Critical Misclass - Ch. 19-21

CHAPTER 19 - Old Wounds

First the cave rat queen, and now these wolves. I hoped that Ves and Thia also noticed that the snarling wolves were undead, because there was no time to say anything before the creatures reached us. One of them slammed its snout into Thia's shield as she blocked at just the right moment. Another one lunged at Ves, who managed to make dazzling light appear right in its face, briefly disorienting it.

The third one came straight at me, making grotesque bark-like sounds. I jumped back without thinking about it - not that these things were giving me any chance to actually think. With quick motions, I slashed the creature with my daggers. Although I could tell that I had made contact, the wolf zombie didn't react to the cuts at all. Its jaws opened, unleashing both maggots and a foul stench, and snapped shut on my arm.

Even with my armor, the fangs pierced my skin and hurt like hell. The strength of its jaws alone was incredible.

The undead pack had us divided, unable to focus on one target at a time. I needed Thia to distract this wolf so I could get around it and try to strike some weakness... if it had any. All I could do for now was keep slicing and stabbing and hope it would eventually be enough to keep it down for good.

Thia screamed. I whipped my head in her direction and saw that the wolf she had been trying to keep back had managed to bite her ankle. It pulled on her, and she fell to the ground. The monster's attack had been so relentless, she hadn't even had a chance to draw her sword.

I barely took one step in her direction when my opponent snapped at me again. Much like when it first attacked me, I somehow stepped quicker than I thought possible, narrowly avoiding its bite. There wasn't much I could do while this thing kept coming at me, so I continued attacking it with my blades.

A bright light appeared in my peripheral vision. Ves had cast another light spell right in the face of her enemy, but it shook it off faster than before. Her face contorted in fury and she held out both hands, her palms glowing once again. The glow appeared on the wolf's body, a pained look on its rotting face. It made a horrible, gurgling, whine as its remaining flesh fell off its body in chunks, followed by bits of bone.

There wasn't any time to feel relieved for Ves. The wolf attacking Thia had started tearing apart her legs, blood smeared all over its snout. Thia was in shock, unable to even scream.

I couldn't help but run in her direction, slamming into the wolf, but it was so big that I barely budged it. I did, however, get its attention. With a rattling growl, it lunged at me, but I dodged the attack again. That seemed to be the easiest Rogue ability to use, since it was more like a reflex than a conscious action.

The wolf I was originally facing ran behind me. I was now being flanked, and felt pretty confident that I'd have a harder time dodging both their attacks. I kept turning around, yelling, trying to keep their attention while also hoping I could prevent them from attacking me.

Their attention definitely stayed on me. One wolf bit my leg as the other rushed me from the side. The unbleeding cuts all over its face and neck told me that this was the wolf I'd already been stabbing, to little effect. Having no other options - as far as I knew - I continued slashing and stabbing at it with my daggers as it snarled and bit at me.

For once, I wished that Kael and Ullun were around to help us out of this hopeless battle. Especially Ullun - if she were here to cast a fire spell on my daggers...

Just as I thought that, my daggers actually did burst into flames. Are they actually here?!

I stabbed the wolf again, igniting its flesh. It thrashed about in a desperate attempt to put out the fire. Since my leg was still clamped in its slimy, rotten jaws, I fell onto my ass. The pain in my leg was intense, and got worse as the wolf's frantic thrashing snapped my bone.

Grunting in agony, I kicked the creature's decaying head with my other leg, caving it in. It fell over, still burning, but no longer moving.

I was panting. Why didn't the other one attack me?? I looked around and saw Thia facing down the remaining monster, holding up her shield, and occasionally hitting it with her sword. Her dress was stained with blood, but she didn't seem to be injured anymore. Ves was several feet behind her, her hand extended, ready to cast more healing magic.

"Thia!" I called out to her, relieved that she was okay, but immediately regretted it. The wolf turned its attention to me, moving into an attack stance. "That," Thia grunted, "is my job." She swung her sword down, cutting halfway through the creature's rotting back and knocking it flat. "I distract; you attack." The expression she gave me was deathly serious, but I saw a flicker of a smile.

"Right... sorry." I limped over to the wolf as it tried to get Thia's sword out of its body, and stabbed it with my flaming daggers. It squirmed around on the ground as it burned.

As my adrenaline faded, I dropped to my hands and knees. The pain from the wolves' attacks was overwhelming. I heard the women call my name, moving towards me, but then they both gasped. Panting, I raised my head. There, about ten feet in front of me, stood an old man.

A guttural cough burst from his throat. "Gotta say: that was pretty pathetic."

I had only seen this man once before - just the prior day - but his distinct appearance wasn't easy to forget. This was the old man from Perrenbrook who claimed to be a Healer. The old man who apparently didn't actually live in Perrenbrook. The old man who entered a house that I later learned wasn't his.

As before, he was dressed in the same kind of simple garb as most of the people who lived in Perrenbrook. That is, with the exception of his aged cloak. Much of his head was still wrapped in gauze, but it wasn't the same gauze as last time - the bloodstains were fresh, and on different parts of his face. One of his eyes was covered this time. It was as if his wounds had healed overnight, and were replaced by entirely new wounds, but the unbandaged scars on his head were the same as before. A trickle of blood seeped out from the lowest strand of gauze and ran down his withered chin.

I tried to stand, but the pain was too much. "What the hell... Did you follow us? Why are you here?"

The old man coughed again, then spoke in his raspy voice. "I knew you were lost. Didn't realize just how bad it was."

One of the wolves, still burning and not fully defeated, made a disgusting and unnerving whine. The old man waved a hand dismissively, and all of the zombies immediately collapsed into piles of meat and bones. It was like Ves's anti-undead spell, but significantly faster. While it spared us from seeing the undead creatures fall apart slowly, seeing a body basically disintegrate like that so quickly made me feel sick.

The man continued as if nothing had happened. "You're lucky those wolves were undead. If I'd sicced some living wolves on you, they'd show you some proper teamwork."

"You sent them?!"

"Wanted to see your potential. So much for that. But I know it's there." It sounded like he was coughing again, but then I realized he was laughing. He clutched his stomach. "Not at first. Definitely not! But it is there. Took me a while to see it."

Moving slowly, but with determination, Thia positioned herself right in front of me, her shield still raised. A sudden tingling sensation spread across my back, as if I were being poked by a series of tiny but especially sharp needles - Ves had aimed a healing spell at me. Now I could slowly rise to my feet, not taking my eyes off of the old man.

He looked at Thia, then his gaze lingered over Ves. "Never did get the chance to team up with a netharri. Almost did, once, I think. But she died." The words hung there for a moment, then he turned back to Thia. "But I did have an aevrana in my party for a time. Toughest motherfucker I ever met, that guy."

"What the fuck do you want?!" Ves shouted, causing some birds to fly from nearby trees.

His expression unchanged, the old man merely pointed at Ves. She screamed, clutching her right arm, just below the wrist. She pulled off her glove. With a burst of blood, the flesh and muscles on her fingertips began to peel off her bones - which were somehow still twitching. Ves turned pale and fainted, falling to the ground. Blood continued to gush from her hand.

"You can dish it out, but you can't take it, huh?"

Furious, I ran straight to the elderly bastard. Without a second thought, I plunged my daggers into his chest.

"Hah," he gurgled, coughing up blood. I wanted to keep stabbing, over and over, not stopping until this monster was dead... but something was holding me still. Aches filled my bones. "Don't think you're ready to attack someone head-on, Rogue."

I felt some invisible force yanking me backwards, making me fall back to the ground. Thia rushed him with her sword raised, but she was also pulled back, landing on the road. Ves was still screaming in what must have been unimaginable pain, and I was completely unable to help her. Try as I might, I couldn't move. The aching in my bones felt worse the more I tried to resist.

The man grabbed both of my daggers, pulled them out of his chest without even flinching, and casually tossed them aside. His hand filled with a familiar warm light as he touched his stab wounds, healing them instantly. "You're all in over your heads." His voice was dripping with phlegm and disdain. "I should just--"

The words caught in his throat as he stared at his hand. The healing light hadn't faded, but was now crackling with energy, which was intensifying with every second. "Dammit."

He snapped his thin, wrinkled fingers, and a mote of light appeared in the air between me, Ves, and Thia. A moment later, it burst into a flash of white light. I felt like I was spinning. All I could see was a mess of various bright colors and I wanted to vomit, but it somehow only lasted a few seconds.

Once I could see clearly again, I dashed over to Ves. Blood was everywhere. "No, no, no, god dammit, NO!" I had no idea what to do. It was hard to even look at her hand. My eyes darted all over, as if there were some solution laying around. I turned to Thia in a panic. "What the fuck do we do?!"

Thia looked like she was close to fainting, as well. "I... I don't..."

A memory of our first meeting flashed in my mind. "You- you gave her some kind of healing potion, didn't you? In the Cave?"

"I-It was the only one I had!"

I pulled my cloak off from around my neck and wrapped it around Ves's hand, knowing full well it wouldn't be enough. Even assuming it wasn't already too late. Maybe Ves bought one? I opened her backpack and rooted around in desperation. While I found some basic adventuring gear - rations, rope, waterskin - there were no potions.

"I... I will check your pack!" Thia rushed over to where I had left my larger pack by the side of the road. I was certain she wouldn't find anything, since I had already dug through the contents when retrieving our lunch, but hoped that I might have just overlooked something.

"Why is this happening," I whispered. "We just started... it's not supposed to be like this..." Ves was still breathing, but only barely. I felt like there had to be something I could do, some last-ditch attempt. One idea came to mind: a tourniquet. I had considered making one when I first got to Fielende, and was losing a lot of blood. I had been stupidly, ridiculously, lucky to get healed by Ves just in the nick of time. I had to return the favor.

It had been close to fifteen years since I learned how to make a tourniquet, and I hadn't thought about them at all between then and finding myself in the Starting Cave. Only the basic concept stuck with me, but it felt like it was worth trying. I asked Thia to find a sturdy stick while I grabbed the rope from Ves's pack. Thia brought back a few sticks almost immediately, all of which seemed like they would work for this purpose.

"I've never done this before, but it's better than nothing." I tied the rope around one of the sticks, then around Ves's arm, and began turning the stick to tighten the makeshift tourniquet.

A tear fell down Thia's face. "What is that supposed to do?"

"It's supposed to prevent someone bleeding out in an emergency." My own voice was shaking. "Even if it works, she might lose her arm, but..." I couldn't continue. I didn't want to think about what could happen to Ves.

Thia hugged me from behind, and I just broke down in tears. We knew the risks of adventuring, of fighting monsters... but this? Some evil son-of-a-bitch shows up at the start of our adventure and takes us down like it was nothing? If he hadn't left so suddenly, it felt clear that Thia and I would have been dead by now. I felt her lay her head on my back as she cried.

Then it hit me: could I use Ves's magic?

I had somehow managed to set my daggers on fire. Ves dodged the zombie rat's attack like a Rogue. There was obviously a connection.

Focusing as hard as I could, I placed my hands on Ves's body. I grimaced and tensed, trying to activate some inner power.

Thia lifted her head. "Jeremy, what..."

I didn't reply. All I could think about was trying to use Ves's class power. The spellblade magic had happened without even trying, in the heat of battle, but I did think about it first. Now, however, I felt like I was overthinking things like I so often did. Worrying about what could go wrong and what we would do next. Wondering what I could have done differently.

In an attempt to stop this, I instead focused on Ves. I thought about meeting her, finding the rune with her, going to Perrenbrook for the first time, waking up with her cuddling me, fighting rats with her... kissing her...

"JEREMY!"

I gasped, snapping out of my reverie. Thia was squeezing me tighter than ever.

There was a warm light coming from my hands.

CHAPTER 20 - The Aftermath

As soon as I noticed the magical light, it flickered and disappeared. "Shit-- NO!"

Thia grabbed my shoulders. "What was that?? What did you do?"

"I... I was trying to..." It didn't feel like the right time to start explaining. It had worked - even if just for a moment, I had definitely used healing magic. That meant there was a chance it could happen again. If I could just make it happen before it was too late...

"Jeremy?" Thia's voice was barely more than a whisper. She sniffled, and I felt her release a hand from my shoulder, most likely to wipe her tears.

I didn't respond, instead focusing on channeling the healing magic again. Trying to retrace my steps, I grimaced and tensed up, hoping to trigger some internal power. Almost immediately, however, I could tell that it wasn't working. Something felt different than before.

"God damn it." I punched the ground as my tears returned. I wiped my nose with my arm and took a shuddering breath. "I-I tried to use a healing spell."

"Oh, Jeremy..." The petite blonde hugged me from behind again. "I am certain that Vestele would have been overjoyed by your efforts..."

"But it wasn't enough." I spoke louder than I had intended. "The second we suspected something, I should have... I don't know, tried to figure it out. Jesus. I could have saved her if I was even just a little better..."

"There's no way for us to know," Thia said softly, moving to my side and holding my head against her bosom. She was trying to be strong, even through her tears. "It... that is to say... it is a heretofore unheard-of ability. It is astonishing that you were able to restore some of her hand with your first attempt--"

"What?!" I pulled away from Thia's embrace and looked at Ves's flayed hand. It was difficult to remember specific details of how awful it had looked, and I felt like I might have been imaginging things, but it did seem like some of the flesh had started to "reattach" to her bones.

It worked... a little.

My eyes darted all over her horrific injury, as if looking for a clue. I soon realized that something did feel off: she wasn't bleeding out anymore. I hadn't finished tightening the tourniquet when I made my attempt at using magic, so the only other option was that she was, in fact, dead.

Just thinking that made me furious, at the old man and at myself. My mind was swarming with hypothetical scenarios: encountering that monster again and how I would react, how I could make sure nothing like this happened to Thia, how to honor Ves's memory...

Eventually, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. I looked at Ves's hand again... and it was healing. The skin and muscles were slowly, slowly, coming back together. My breath caught in my chest as I just stared, having trouble believing that it was actually happening.

Finally, I was able to croak out Thia's name. She looked down and clapped her hands to her mouth. We exchanged a wordless glance, and I knew that we were both wondering if this meant what we hoped it meant.

I hadn't thought to check her pulse - partially because, like the tourniquet, I hadn't even practiced it in over a decade and a half, but mostly because of Ves's significant blood loss. But now I was more desperate than ever, and hoping for a miracle. I placed my fingers under her jaw and held my breath anxiously.

I felt a pulse.

It was slow, but it was there. "She-she's alive," I gasped. Thia's silent teardrops turned into full-on sobbing. I'm not sure if I was being pessimistic or just realistic, but as excited as I was, I kept hoping that this was actually happening and that the rug wouldn't get pulled from under us.

Thia and I watched as the healing gradually sped up. Any other time, I might have found this sight to be disgusting, but it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever seen. Watching her entire lower arm and hand stitch itself back together - the veins, the tendons, everything - was beautiful in its own way. It was easy to think of healing magic as just restoring a game character's hit points, but to see it work to this degree made me realize just how amazing magic really was.

The two of us nearly jumped backwards when Ves made a sudden, gasping breath. Her eyes were still closed, but my jaw dropped and Thia couldn't stop smiling as her tears continued to fall.

Minutes later, Ves's hand looked as good as new, and color was returning to her skin. As much as I wanted to try to wake her up, I knew it would be best to give her all the time she needed. Well, in actuality, I was using every ounce of willpower I had to hold myself back. But logically, I knew it was best to give her time.

Fortunately for everyone, it wasn't a lot of time. Maybe fifteen minutes after she looked externally healed, Ves began to stir. Thia was the first to give in and embrace Ves, lifting her upper body off the ground and holding her tight.

"What... what's happening..." Ves was still disoriented, but hearing her voice made my heart soar. "Fuck... why does everything hurt so much?"

I gently held her hands. "Are you okay??"

"No!" She coughed. "My whole body fuckin' hurts!"

Did my spell do something wrong? Did something get put together in some messed-up way? I slapped my own forehead as I realized what it likely was. "I think that's from my healing spell. Guess it is harder than it looks."

"Yeah, no kidding. Wait, what?!" She sat up quickly, pulling Thia with her.

Thia and I explained - through tears and lots of interruptions - what had happened with the old man and with Ves. At the end, Ves hugged me, and with her voice muffled against my shoulder, said "... Thank you."

"No, it's okay. Let's keep moving until we get to the nearest inn." Ves picked up her dropped glove and pulled it over her newly-healed hand.

"We don't mind going back to Perrenbrook." I looked at Thia for backup, who nodded enthusiastically. "We can get a fresh start tomorrow, or whenever you're feeling better."

"Ugh, no, please. How pathetic would that be? And how would we even explain... any of it? We're at least halfway to the first stop, anyway."

"Well... at least promise that we'll stay there as long as you need."

"Whatever you say, dad." Ves's half-grin made it clear that she was just giving me a hard time, likely deflecting from everything that had just happened. She beckoned us closer to her as she cast her cleaning spell.

Thia giggled and held my arm as we stepped towards Ves. "That may have to count as a promise."

I rolled my eyes with an "Alright, geez," but my smile betrayed my faux-exasperation. Ves's spell finished up, the light fading, and we all looked as good as new: no more bloody armor or dirty faces. It was hard to believe that, just minutes ago, Ves was on the brink of death.

We gathered our packs and double-checked both the road around us and the nearby area where we had lunch to make sure we didn't leave anything behind. Ves got impatient with my stalling, so there was no choice but to move on ahead.

It was quiet at first. No one spoke, and even the ambient noise of the forest around us felt subdued - possibly because of the zombie wolves frightening everything around them. I broke the silence, although I was hesitant to do so. "We need to remember to buy at least one spare healing potion the next time we're in a town."

Ves averted her eyes. I knew she had to have been embarrassed to be the focus of this kind of attention.

Thia, however, spoke up. "Unfortunately... we cannot afford any."

"What, really??"

She nodded. "Even with all of our current funds combined. They are quite expensive. And I doubt that a village such as Perrenbrook would have had any to sell."

"Oh, damn..." So much for that backup plan.

The fur on Ves's tail bristled. "You already used up your only potion on me."

"You saved my life! It was the least I could do." Thia moved so she was walking side-by-side with Ves. "I would do it again, without hesitation."

"I don't want that! I mean, I don't want to put you in that position again. A Healer's no good if she keeps... almost dying." Her ears had flattened.

Thia jogged in front of Ves and held her hands, both of them coming to a stop. I had been trying to act like I wasn't there in case they wanted a little privacy for this discussion, so it took me a few seconds to realize I was the only one walking ahead.

"Vestele. You did not get injured through any fault of your own. As a Defender, it is - and always shall be - my responsibility to keep you from harm."

As much as I didn't want to butt in, I felt like it was necessary here. "Hey - that was then; this is now. There was nothing any of us could have done against that guy. We do need more practice, but it's not like we've been avoiding it. I can't imagine that many quests start off with the party getting wiped out by some... supervillain within the first few hours. Right?"

Ves gave me a look that was a mixture of amusement and mild annoyance - a look that was becoming increasingly familiar to me. "I guess?"

"Let me be clear: I fucking hate that guy. I want us to finish our task for the Seekers--"

"Which hopefully has secret treasure..." Ves grinned.

"Hopefully! I want to finish one way or another because we said that we'd do it. I don't want to start leaving things half-done now that I've got a fresh start here." Easier said than done, though... "But after that, I want to figure out who that guy is and what his fucking problem is."

Ves and Thia didn't look like they disagreed, but more like they were apprehensive at the idea of poking the hornet's nest. I quickly added more. "Not necessarily so we can do anything about him, but we could point others in his direction."

"Given the option," Thia said quietly, "I would rather never see or hear from that man again. But if there is a chance that he can be put to justice, then... I would like to help ensure that happens."

Ves tightened her fists, her shoulders tense and tail bristling again. "He tried to kill me. Hell yes, I want that guy to suffer."

I felt the same way about what he did to Ves, but I didn't want to put too much pressure on that wound. "So, we're all on the same page." I continued walking down the road, motioning for the others to follow.

Ves caught up to my side. "That guy was obsessed with you. You sure you don't know who he is?"

"No idea. I haven't met many old men with bloody bandages who can command the undead and peel the flesh off of bones. But, damn, I knew there was something up with that guy when I met him."

Ves hit my arm. "You just said you didn't know him!"

"Hey! I only saw him for, like, a minute yesterday. I told you about that this morning!"

"THAT'S the guy you saw? The Healer guy?"

"Yes! I know I mentioned the gauze and everything!"

Thia looked baffled. "Wait - what?? What are you talking about?"

I caught Thia up on my brief run-in with the man the previous day, making sure to go into as much detail as possible: telling me that I looked like I was in another world, how his bloody wounds were in different places than they were today, how he just casually entered someone else's house. "I think he must know that I'm not from Fielende. But how much more does he know? Why does he think I have potential?" I scoffed the last word, not used to anyone thinking that about me.

"You do have potential, Jeremy." Thia looked at Ves for validation. "You cast two spells today. Two spells, from two different classes - neither of which is your actual class." She poked my leather armor square in the chest.

With all the stress and excitement of Ves narrowly dodging death, I hadn't even thought about the healing magic. "Ah, shit, you're right. Still, how did he know? I haven't told anyone apart from you two. Hell, pretty much the only time I haven't been with at least one of you was when I met that creep."

No one said anything for a few minutes as we all let the conversation percolate in our minds. My hand accidentally brushed against Ves's, and maybe I was feeling protective, or just concerned... or maybe because I liked her so much... I held her hand. Ves turned her head slightly towards me and gave me a shy smile.

My mind went back to the conversation that was interrupted by the stampeding animals. No risk, no reward... right? With only a little hesitation, I reached out with my other hand, towards Thia's. Almost as if she were anticipating this, she eagerly took my hand and gave it a light squeeze.

CHAPTER 21 - Chilling Events

"What do we call him, anyway?" I looked at the ladies to either side of me for clarification. We had been walking for at least three hours, which had been completely uneventful - which only made us more stressed and nervous about what might pop up at any moment.

"What?" Ves grimaced, clutching the hand that had been all-too-recently flayed.

"The old man. I guess we could just keep calling him that, but I'm sure we'll meet another old man at some point, and it gets confusing after a while." I was mostly just trying to be amusing and lighten the mood. None of us had said very much since we continued our trek, and I couldn't enjoy the peaceful serenity of nature while thinking too much about the future. This was a perfect situation for my brain to go hog-wild, overthinking everything, plotting out possible outcomes, making up scenarios and conversations...

In other words: it was hell.

"I suppose we should think of something." Thia stared off into the distance as she brainstormed.

"Well, you know what I vote for," Ves muttered.

I tried not to smile too much. "Something along the lines of 'Fucking Asshole'?"

"Yup."

"But then we'll run into the same problem. You think he'll be the only fucking asshole we meet on our travels?"

Ves nodded thoughtfully. "... Good point."

Trying to keep a straight face proved to be too much for me, and I snorted in laughter. Ves chuckled - God, it was good to see her smile again. I put my arm around her to squeeze her tight, but she hissed in pain.

"Ah, sorry! Are you feeling okay?"

"It's fine. You just surprised me." She affectionately nuzzled her head against my shoulder, giving me pleasant goosebumps.

"Okay, but... you've been wincing and holding your hand a lot. I guess I'm worried that I, I don't know, messed something up with that spell."

She pursed her lips, avoiding eye contact. "I'm just... achy, all over." Her eyes widened and she looked at me. "I mean, it's not your fault. The spell needed to restore... a lot of blood..."

Thia clapped her hands together. "Oh, yes: blood! How about 'Red Gauze'?"

Ves and I said "What?" in unison.

"The old man. 'Red Gauze' for his bloody bandages. You said they were also bleeding yesterday, correct?"

"Right, yeah. One of his many awful features. I guess that name works for me... Ves?"

"I'll probably call him a bunch of stuff if I ever see him again, but yeah, that'll do."

Now that we were all talking again, I wanted to take advantage of the moment and bring up one of the many, many things I had been thinking about. "So, uh, we know for sure that I can use abilities from other classes. Somehow."

Thia embraced my arm. "Yes! Your blessing from the Goddess. You are destined for greatness."

I didn't know how to respond to that. This Goddess didn't seem to be very active, apart from granting classes to people at random, but I wasn't about to blaspheme. "Well... based on that time Ves dodged like a Rogue, it's probably a safe bet that this 'blessing' works both ways."

"It was pretty surprising at the time," Ves said quietly. "Actually, kinda scary when it happened, and then confusing afterwards."

Thia leaned forward to speak to Ves. "I can only imagine! Do you feel any better, now that you know it happened because of Jeremy?"

The netharri rolled her eyes and nuzzled against my arm some more. "... Yeah."

I scratched her back in return, and her body responded positively. "Ves, for you, it seemed to happen involuntarily. Or like a reflex. That's the same way it feels for me when I manage to avoid attacks. And I guess it was sort of the same with the fire spell: I was just thinking about it, and it ended up happening. The healing spell, though... I focused as hard as I could and then it eventually worked."

"Which is not ideal during combat," Thia added.

"Right. But we also can't hope that it works by chance just because we want it to. So," I sighed, "On top of still learning about our primary classes, we should be trying to learn how to trigger each other's class abilities."

"How's that gonna work?" Ves's tail was swishing back and forth. "If we're still learning our own stuff, how do we also learn each other's?"

I couldn't help but grin at how ridiculous this was all sounding to me. "I guess... just try to keep it in mind. As far as Rogues go, we know about the dodging, the stealth, and sneak attacks. For Vitality Mages, there's magic. Ves, I've seen you use the cleaning, healing, and undead-destroying spells, so you'll have to teach us about any others you know."

Turning to Thia, I added "I really haven't seen you in action enough times to know what abilities you have. I'm guessing you can keep enemies' attention, and maybe resist damage better than the rest of us?"

Thia looked down. "And yet, I continue to have difficulty resisting attacks. Furthermore, if we face an... unexpected encounter, I may not have my armor donned."

She had raised a great point: she couldn't wear her armor for a long trip like this, and I could guess that it took her a while to put it on properly. While it was great being able to store her armor in her pack of plenty, I think it might be asking too much for the armor to magically appear on her body.

"Well... all the more reason for you to work on dodging, I guess. You-- oh!" An idea struck me. "Evasion tank!"

"Jeremy," Thia said patiently. "You are using that word again."

"I don't know if this could work, but maybe you could try evading attacks, instead of blocking them?"

"What-- oh, without my armor?" She looked bewildered at the suggestion.

"Imagine if you could avoid or dodge attacks instead of using your shield." Her eyes began moving around while she considered this.

Ves spoke to me quietly, not really in a whisper, but low enough to not interrupt Thia's train of thought. "Is it really that easy, though?"

"We'll just have to try. I wonder what cross-class abilities would help you out the most?"

"Cross-class, huh?" Ves scratched the back of her head. "Sounds weird." Guess it might, if it's never been a thing before. "Ugh, I don't know. It's not like I'll be stabbing anything in the back... even if that does sound kinda fun."

"Just keep it in mind. Being stealthy could be useful in a lot of situations, for instance."

The three of us discussed possibilities for a while, until I noticed something in the distance. "Oh hey, looks like a settlement or something up ahead."

"Where?" Ves squinted. "I still can't see anything."

"It's pretty far, but I can just barely make it out."

"Pfft, must be your Rogue senses."

Thia's face brightened. "In that case, mayhaps we could attempt to use that ability!" She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. It was pretty cute.

Ves chuckled at her, but then she tried to look into the distance again. "So, what, I just try to think about using the ability?"

I shrugged. "That's what we're trying to figure out. I get the feeling that it's not an exact science."

"Not really sure what that means, but I'll give it a shot." She stared down the road, her brow furrowed. "Whoa!" Within seconds, she rubbed her eyes. "I think it worked for a second. Suddenly, I could see a lot more detail, but then it went back to normal."

"Truly? I am still unable to notice anything different," Thia pouted.

I was reminded of Ves being able to see better in the darkness of the Cave. "Maybe it's those netharri eyes?"

"You know it." Ves looked especially proud of herself, and sped up to get in front of me and Thia, walking backwards to look at us. "This is pretty wild... I still don't know exactly how we can take advantage of this, but I'm excited--ow!"

I thought she might have tripped on something, but Ves's healed hand was shaking. She slowly opened and closed her fist with a pained expression.

"Come here." I beckoned Ves to come back by my side, and put my arm around her. "We'll be there soon, and it's not dark yet. Let's take our time."

Thia moved over to Ves's other side, and put the taller woman's arm over her shoulder to help support her. "Jeremy is right: there is no need to strain yourself."

"You two are too much sometimes." Despite her words, Ves started lightly purring.

The settlement ended up being little more than a waystation, consisting of an inn, a couple of shops, and several small homes. Each business had the name "Paddorn", suggesting that they were all run by the same family. We went straight to the inn so that we could rest properly as soon as possible.

I had to watch my head as we entered the building. The doorway wasn't so low that I needed to duck, but it came uncomfortably close. Must be tough for people like Kael. Wonder how many other species are taller than the human average. We were immediately greeted by two people at a low counter inside.

It was my first time meeting people of this species face-to-face, but I knew right away that they must be halflings. The older of the two looked like he was middle-aged, with a bit of grey in the curly brown hair on his, and without a trace of facial hair. Unsurprisingly, he was about half my height, and he had his hands on the shoulders of the even smaller halfling in front of him. I wasn't exactly sure of her age, but I estimated she was a teenager. While the man had a big, proud, smile on his face, the girl was nervous and trying her best to maintain a friendly smile.

The older halfling - probably her father, as they looked a lot alike - patted the girl's shoulders gently and gave her a soft nudge. She took a cautious step forward, craning her neck up at us. "G-good evening, sir and madams." We all returned her greeting, but she just stared at us, as if waiting for us to say something else. Her father nudged her again. "Ah- Welcome to the Paddorn Inn. ... Are you interested in a room for the night?" Her words were said deliberately and a bit haltingly.

"That was wonderful, dear." Her father patted her shoulders again and stepped out from behind her to speak to us directly. The girl took a few quick steps back and lowered her eyes. "Thank you for your patience. Just teachin' my daughter the family business."

I smiled politely. "Not a problem. I bet she'll master that in no time."

"Oh, you're kind for saying that, sir. Now, how many rooms will you be needin' tonight?"

The question threw me off guard. I hadn't even thought about that with everything else going on. If I wasn't romantically involved with either Ves or Thia, I would just ask them what they felt comfortable with. If we wanted to save money, had no issues sleeping on a couch or on the floor, and could just leave the room if someone needed to change - although, that wasn't much of an issue thanks to the cleaning spell. And if I were involved with just one woman, then a separate room for the remaining party member would make sense.

But I was courting both Ves and Thia... apparently in some sort of - dare I say it? - harem situation. "Throuple" didn't sound right, since neither woman had expressed or demonstrated any interest in the other romantically.

I had to cut off my train of thought there, because it was about to derail into a series of fantasies really fast. Fortunately, this all happened in my mind in a split-second, and Thia answered the innkeeper's question.

"Two rooms, please, sir."

"Of course, my lady. One moment." The halfling man checked his logbook, wrote something, and reached down to retrieve two keys. "You'll be in rooms 3 and 4." Thia accepted the keys with a slight curtsy and a gentle smile, and the man continued. "Oh, and dinner will be ready momentarily! My eldest daughter is making a spiced venison stew that'll make you want to extend your stay!"

Guess stew's a popular dish around here. Part of me was a little concerned about just how spicy it would be, considering that Brinn's had unexpectedly spicy, but not advertised as such. More importantly, I wondered if Thia wanted separate rooms for me and the ladies, or if she was hoping to get some alone time with me. The very idea of that made me feel like a million bucks.

Thia looked up at me. "Jeremy, would you mind saving our places for dinner? Vestele and I will carry everything upstairs and return before long."

"You sure?" She had already moved around me to take my pack off my shoulders. "Well, okay then. See you soon."

Ves shrugged. "Try not to get too bored."

I made my way to the dining area, where several other guests were already seated: a few humans, a pair of goblins, a netharri man, and a halfling woman who was looking all over the room from her seat, with an appraising-but-apprehensive eye.

As I sat at an available table, I knew that I'd be looking all around the room, as well. Brinn and Tabur's inn was quaint and rustic, giving off an old-fashioned "welcome to our humble home" vibe, but the Paddorn Inn was a big step up in terms of classiness. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was "elegant" or the kind of style that I'm sure Thia was used to, but there was more artistry in the design. The tables and other woodwork had beautiful designs carved into them, and the overall quality was more than impressive.

"Appreciatin' the craftsmanship?"

I turned to see a young halfling woman standing by the table. She looked very similar to the teenager at the front counter, but at least a few years older, and she was wearing an apron over her simple dress.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Everything looks so beautiful. I haven't seen furniture like this before."

"Well, thank you kindly, sir. Everything was crafted locally, at my uncle's shop. If you're interested, there are some pieces for sale, and they also take commissions."

"Thanks, but I'll have to wait until I'm a homeowner."

She looked up and down at my armor. "Ah, you're a novice adventurer, are you? Suppose you won't be settling down anytime soon, but keep us in mind." I agreed. "Now then... will you be having the venison stew tonight? Otherwise, my sister'd be happy to make you something else for a bit more coin."

"The stew sounds good. I'm waiting on my, uh, partners, so three servings, please."

After acknowledging the order, the woman moved on to the next table. It wasn't long after that before my party members returned. Thia sat next to me, and Ves sat on the opposite side of the table.

"How do the rooms look?"

"Mm, not bad," Ves said quietly.

Thia nodded. "Yes, they are quite cozy. Did you happen to order the meals? Pray tell me you requested the stew!"

To her delight, the server carried over a large (at least, in comparison to her) tray with three bowls of steaming stew. Thia kissed me on the cheek in gratitude. We each helped her by taking our bowls off of the tray. The young woman thanked us and hurried off to the kitchen, by which point Thia had already had at least one spoonful.

"Oh!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. She finished chewing and swallowed. "Oh, this is exquisite! It is similar to a favorite dish of mine in Karneissdran." Without further explanation, she dug into the rest of her bowl.

Looking forward to trying the food, I grabbed my spoon. I blinked when I got a good look at the stew: it looked a hell of a lot like chili, albeit without any beans. Where's a hot dog when you need one?

Now I was really excited to try the food. It was considerably spicier than Brinn's stew, but the heat wasn't as shocking, since I was at least expecting it this time. It was pretty damn tasty, though, even if I wasn't sure if I could finish the whole bowl.

Meanwhile, Ves was suffering. I had to imagine that, as a netharri, her tongue was somewhat sensitive. "Oh shit, that's... whoo..." She took quick breaths as if to cool off her mouth.

The halfling server returned to our table. "How are you all doin'? Oh, ma'am, would you care for some milk? Comes straight from cows raised in the nearby--"

Ves looked frantic, hissing through gritted teeth. "Yes! Please!"

"Ah-- I'll bring a pitcher for the table."

Thia called out to the server as she spun around and rushed off. "Could I please have some wine, instead?"

Fortunately for Ves, the server made an effort to return to us with a pitcher of milk and three small mugs right away (and promised to return with a glass of wine for Thia). I poured some milk for Ves, who practically downed it like a shot, and asked for more.

She drank her second mug slower, savoring the taste. "This is actually really delicious."

At her recommendation, I tried some of the milk. It was creamier than what I was used to, but otherwise tasted just fine. The best part was that it did help tamper down some of the spicy aftertaste of the stew.

Ves braved a few more bites of the stew, each one followed by at least one full mug of milk, but by that point she'd had enough. "Gonna regret that later. But, wow. That was good milk." Her mood suddenly shifted, with her ears lowering a small amount and her eyes not meeting mine or Thia's. "I think I'll... head upstairs. See you."

She left without waiting for any replies, so I looked at Thia, who was reaching for Ves's unfinished bowl of stew. The hungry aevrana noticed me looking when she sat back down. "Vestele will be alright. That is, with some support from her party leader."

She grinned as she ate another bite of stew. "Incidentally... Your pack is in room 3."