158 A weak bundle of sticks

"By the sages, my feet hurt so bad. They're killing me." Penny complained as she collapsed on a bar stool.

All four of their servants did the same as they dropped everything they carried on the floor around the seats. They had it much worse than Penny since she made her slaves carry most of her things.

"Quit complaining Penny, we're just walking. There's nothing hard in that." Brenia said, half to encourage her and half to mock her.

Her friend picked up her ridiculous hat and made herself some wind with it in an attempt to refresh herself.

"I don't even have the strength to argue with you anymore."

She looked completely exhausted, so much so that the barman didn't come to greet them right away to give her some time to catch her breath. She clearly wasn't used to walking this kind of distance. Maybe Brenia hadn't thought this through as much as she thought she did.

As a huntress, she was used to walking. Before she joined the school, she'd get up with the sun and either walk or run the whole day to catch some good kills or move to a new hunting spot. She was on her feet all day long, all year round. Penny was the opposite, sat on her bum all day with her head in some book.

From the very first day of their hunt, she started complaining about her feet aching. Brenia called her a wuss and giggled but after the third day, she had to admit, things weren't looking good for her friend. Her feet had become all blistered and frankly disgusting to look at.

She was so angry at Brenia to have dragged her on the road that time, she didn't even protest and just let her vent her frustration on her. She seriously looked like an angry child that time with her tear filled eyes and all her shouting but Brenia didn't comment on it. She'd take a laugh at Penny any day but only if they both were in the mood for it which she clearly wasn't.

Penny had made herself some magical and sweet smelling ointment for her foot and applied it very liberally on them every day since. It helped a lot and her feet went back to normal rather quickly but it didn't change how tiring walking felt for her. She complained every night about her legs aching and burning just to remind Brenia how much she despised wandering outside.

Of course, that grated on her nerves a lot but she needed Penny's help and knowledge so she was more than willing to tolerate a bit of complaining. Plus, it was true that this was entirely her fault, Penny would never have come out of the school if not for her insistence.

Since they left, they moved here and there through villages in Artefine looking for the illusionist. They had checked seven of them by now and found not a single trace of him. Their next stop would be the Glowstorm territory south of Bêtéclair. Zoran's father owned that but the place wasn't close to any significant border so the military presence was rather low. This made the chances of Ninoslav being hiding there rater high.

Penny had a lot of trouble keeping up even with her two slaves helping her carry her things and just like she said she would, her neck got burnt in the sun badly.

Brenia was certain that all her complaining about going outside was just to annoy her but apparently not, her skin really was sensitive to the sun after all. Now it was falling off in wide but thin patches to her great disgust.

She also discovered that Penny was extremely repulsed by worms, more than anyone she had ever met. Seeing just a simple earthworm sticking out of the road would have her jump in horror and circle around it as far as the road would allow.

Brenia had agreed to shut up about it if Penny didn't say anything about her fear of wasps either. Honestly, wasps were way worse than worms. Clearly Penny never got stung by a wasp or she wouldn't chuckle every time one of them made her freeze on the spot.

She had once slapped a wasp away from her face and got stung on the same finger twice in a row by two of them. She'd never make that mistake again however much Penny laughed at her fear.

"The great warrior afraid of a little bug just as big as her fingernail." She had mocked while Brenia reminded her that the great wizard wasn't much better being afraid of an inoffensive worm.

As they traveled, they spent some nights outside in the wild but on the insistence of Penny, Brenia tried her best to plan ahead so that they'd be able to find some inn to sleep in as often as possible.

That day, they were in some small village called Barkton which happened to be on a road important enough to warrant a bar and an inn being built. It wasn't that late yet but Penny would move no further so they'd stay here for today.

With Penny slowly regaining some of her composure, the barman approached them. He had a belly grown from years of inactivity but he couldn't really be blamed for that. By the way he walked, Brenia was about sure that he had one badly hurt leg and from the sword hung over the bar, he might have been a decent warrior before his injury.

"So, what can I serve to those six ladies? I have water for free, cider, pear cider, home made mead and pressed berry juice."

"Aren't we in a bar? Don't you have some wine?" Penny asked pitifully.

"I don't, sorry, it's too expensive, nobody buys that around here." He apologized with a shrug.

"Anyway, we don't have the money for it." Brenia scolded her friend. "I'll take juice, those two as well." She pointed at her servants.

Kali and Janna were very useful even if she was reluctant to the idea of owning slaves. At least she didn't treat them badly, she saw them more like companions than slaves. There were a few in the nobles she met at school that did the same but most were like Penny who treated servants like servants.

She didn't treat them badly or unfairly in any way because she wasn't that kind of woman at all but Brenia hadn't been sure she even knew their names before she used them in front of her. She would have them work hard because according to her it was their job as servants but she wasn't the sort to lash out at them at every little inconvenience. She was way more reasonable with them than she was with Brenia.

Brenia tried to keep a friendly relationship with her own. Even if she had to admit that having people attend to her all the time was as fun as things could get in life, she didn't really need them and would have certainly freed them if she had the means to do it. Since she couldn't and didn't have the money for it anyway, she treated them as companions.

At first she wanted them to train and fight alongside her but they were clearly reluctant to do it and more importantly, they didn't have the potential. Kali and Janna were two big softies, they were a bit like Calla, submissive things more willing to hide behind her than to defend themselves. Brenia wouldn't force them to fight, they'd be unreliable and more importantly, she didn't want to see them get hurt.

"Then Cider for me and water for those two." Penny said with a sigh.

"Right away ladies." The man answered politely as he turned towards his reserves.

Brenia didn't take any alcohol this time because despite her strong build, she couldn't take it. Every time she drank, she ended up in some horrible situation. She might have indulged if she was with a large group of trusted friends but here in the middle of nowhere, she wouldn't touch the stuff. It was in times like these that she envied Nessa the most. That girl could take a drink, even the strongest stuff didn't even make her tipsy.

Penny wasn't much better than Brenia but she was too smart to drink herself into a coma. She'd take a mug or two and then switch for something harmless. Brenia loved her drinks too much to do the same and once she got started, she couldn't stop herself.

At least she wasn't the only one who couldn't drink. She often amused herself at the thought that the Muraciers embarrassed themselves so much with their drinking habits that they banned their whole family from drinking. That was the only explanation she could think of to explain that nonsensical rule and it made her laugh to no ends.

The barman came back with all their beverages and told them the costs casually. Brenia and Penny paid easily the cheap cost and she downed the whole mug of juice in one go. It was refreshing and sweet, apparently, it was a mix of berries, she could taste at least three kinds. It was good, she asked for another one while she looked around the bar.

The place was small but well maintained. There were a few bearded hunters eating at a table a bit deeper in and a group of six younger ones partying closer to them. The floors were well used and scraped but the walls were clean and hosted a good few hunting trophies. T'was a good place by her standards.

"This place is gloomy and old." Penny mumbled her own impression as she scowled at the back shelves, simply made but solid.

"Come on Penny, you complain about every place we go to. They can't all be sparkly like the shiny ass of a knight."

Brenia had a lot of fun watching Penny almost choke on her drink in shock.

"Could you please watch your language. It's not enough for you to drag me around the countryside, you also have to shame me as much as possible while doing so?"

"You know I'm just doing this to tease you."

"Yeah, for you its just harmless teasing but do you really understand how much trouble I'll be in if we fail? My mother will certainly not approve of me wandering without protection and I won't even get started about me leaving the school.

Worse, my father is bound to react much more harshly to my sudden and impulsive leave. If we can't show any results, I'll be punished until the world returns to the void."

"Don't worry Penn, we'll find him, it's just a matter of time."

"Time is the problem here, and don't call me Penn."

Brennia chuckled and took the new mug the barman brought them.

"So, are you ladies part of Noey's wings?" The man asked them curiously.

"No, we aren't." Brenia answered.

The man didn't seem too surprised to hear that, groups of women travelling alone weren't as rare as one would think. He must see plenty all the time because of his job. He was just curious to know if they were part of the famous group.

Brenia and Penny heard about them a lot since they left the school. They were apparently a large band of huntresses who gained the favors of the young Muracier lord but the rumors weren't detailed enough to explain how exactly this happened.

All that Brenia knew about them was that they were talented huntresses with a mage in their ranks. Many villages they searched for Ninosalv had high praises for them and the help they provided in getting rid of some strong monsters.

It pleased her to hear about their rising fame because she always liked that sort of story. She'd like to meet them if possible just to know what they were really like and maybe even challenge some of them to a fight to test her might against some professionals.

More importantly, if Penny and her could find them, they might be able to hire them to help in their hunt of the illusionist. Penny had reminded her multiple times already that they needed more numbers to pick a fight with him but Brenia simply could not trust any hunters or dead seekers.

She had one too many bad experiences with them and would not risk bringing a man in their group. At least, not without spending a long time to make sure they weren't idiots.

This made the Noey's wings huntresses all the more valuable to her.

"Did they pass recently?" She asked the man.

"Sadly not, I heard they went westward. They were looking for bigger prey and that the duke Glowstorm was unwilling to let a large group or armed people roam in his territory."

"I see, thanks for the information."

"You're welcome." He nodded.

"Why did you ask us if we were part of them if you already knew they aren't here?" Penny asked with a suspicious frown.

"I hear a lot of things but it doesn't mean they are true. I like to ask things in case the wind turns." He replied casually, not offended at all by her question.

Brenia didn't share her friend's suspicion, the barman was absolutely ordinary, not a threat at all. She was used to travelling and had learnt the hard way to recognize liars and hidden threats. The guy was inoffensive, he was simply doing his job. She was more worried about the group of young men at the table.

They clearly had a lot to drink already so whether they were good or bad, she didn't trust them. She decided to keep an eye on them while they drank.

"So, what are you ladies doing in these parts?" The barman asked, again, trying to gather some information.

While Penny was playing the fool, Brenia pulled out a folded parchment from one of her pockets.

"We're hunting down a man, have you ever seen his face? He should have been travelling with two young woman."

The barman lowered his head closer to the portrait she was showing him to take a better look while Penny glared at her. She was such a worrywart. She was afraid that one of these days, she'd show the portrait to the man they were looking for himself. She kept telling her to be careful of his illusion but Brenia trusted Penny with her work even if she herself didn't.

Penny had spent a lot of time preparing to nullify his magic and came up with many countermeasures. She made a tall staff she said could disperse illusions, potions to clear up the mind, she carefully painted wards on some headbands she forced Brenia to wear and more interestingly she gave her some elixir to help her see his tricks.

After the two of them drank those magic potion she discovered she was now able to discern magic on people and objects. Penny explained it was an old elixir based on the powers of the fwans. It took her two weeks of careful brewing to make it work properly after studying the recipe for almost as long.

From what Brenia understood, it was very popular elixir and most mages and high noble had drank some of that at this point. It didn't mean it was cheap to make though and that was were most of their budget went.

She said that it paled in comparison to what a fwan could see as they couldn't understand at a glance what the magic was but at least, now they could tell if magic was in use in front of them.

Brenia always used this new power whenever she got somewhere. That bar for example didn't have any magic in it at all. That was why she wasn't all that worried.

"Hmmm, sorry, can't say I've ever seen the man. What did the bloke do?" The barman asked as he straightened himself back up.

"Maybe he got paid to not say anything if he was asked. Who wouldn't have heard of him at this point?" Penny accused the barman who just raised a confused brow.

"Don't mind her, she's paranoid." Brenia sighed, putting back the wanted poster into her pocket.

"Of course I'm paranoid, it's a battle mage we're hunting! You're the weird one with that calm attitude. Anyone would be paranoid in those circumstances!" Penny scoffed.

"A battle mage?" The barman asked.

"Yeah, the guy we're looking for is super dangerous, a master of illusions and potions. He has been wanted dead for years already, he's committed... many crimes."

"The sort of guy no one should mess with uh? Sounds way over my head, lucky he didn't walk through Barkton. Sorry I couldn't help but I'll admit, I'm glad I'm not involved. Are you sure you can take him on?" He asks, running his eyes over the six girls.

"It's unlikely." Penny answered with a pessimistic face.

Brenia snorted and slapped the back of her friend.

"We'll be fine if we get those huntresses from Noey's wings."

The barman's face lighted up at that in a mix of relief and approval. He must have at least one daughter their age. It was obvious he worried for their safety even though those feelings were misplaced. Brenia wouldn't get angry at an old man worrying for her safety though.

"That's a reasonable idea. Just don't get in trouble over your head alright. I don't like clients dying."

"We'll be fine, I can protect myself. Speaking of that."

Brenia caught with her eyes one of the drunken lads getting up with a confident grin. The rest of his friends where cheering him on as he made the first few steps towards them. She turned her head his way immediately and pointed at him with her mug-holding hand.

"If you come close to any of us, I'll pick you up and throw you out of here through the wall." She threatened harshly.

She was deadly serious too, there was no way she was letting any guy get close to her or the other five. The young man turned beet red and sat back down in a hurry to the intense mocking of his friends.

"Well at the very least, while travelling with you, I never have to worry about the rabble getting close." Penny said on a disinterested tone.

Brenia chuckled.

"As if I'd let anyone get close to my cute and very irreplaceable mage!"

Cute might be an exaggeration but it was worth saying it to see her blush in embarrassment, a thing she almost never did. Brenia pulled her into her arms, almost having her fall off her own bench to worsen her embarrassment. She couldn't help but make a huge grin feeling her panic into her arms.

Before she could pull herself free, Brenia forced down her amused smile and let her go.

The mage opened her mouth to say something but then found nothing and hid her face into her clothes instead by shrinking her neck and lowering her head. Perfect, this time it was Brenia's win!

She thought that Penny would latch onto the second part of the sentence and complain about it. Then she would have mocked how she still followed her despite knowing she was only needed for her magic. That wouldn't have been entirely true but it was a good weapon to win their daily quarrel.

Penny was too smart however and saw it coming so she cut it short. The hit was lesser then but a win was still a win, Brenia would take it. That would be enough of a payback for her saying that any old troll would be more attractive than her.

With that very important task done, embarrassing Penny not looking for some information, it was time to leave. With how much those guys were still drinking, she was about convinced that they'd come for a round two and she didn't want to have to pay for a new wall.

"Anyway, we should leave now before any more of those idiots get a smart idea. Thanks for the drinks and the info old man."

"Sure, thank you as well for your patronage, and I'm not that old." He grumbled while Brenia gathered the others and pushed them out of the building.

Penny grumbled about not having finished her drink but there were plenty of places around to drink and most of them were better for that than a roadside bar. The point of those things was to meet people and share information, not get some casual refreshment because miss magic here was thirsty after a few hours of walking.

She didn't even make that much efforts at all and didn't intervene in most of the fights they got in. Monsters and beasts of all kinds were often thrilled to find a small group of women walking alone so they were attacked often and Brenia had to cut them all down with her axe.

It wasn���t that Penny didn't want to help but her resources were limited and every attack from her was one that that she wouldn't be able to use again later. They agreed that as long as Brenia could beat an opponent by herself, Penny shouldn't intervene at all.

All of this to say that Brenia should be the thirsty one, not Penny.

The inn would have plenty for them to quench their thirst and it just so happened to be the next building after the bar.

That place had nothing special at all. It was the only inn in the village and the owner knew that all too well. The price of the rooms were high, they wouldn't have much space in them and the beds would probably not be all that comfortable either. She knew because it was all too common. The best she could do about that was negotiate the price of a room down as low as possible.

"We'd like two rooms please." Penny asked the woman at the desk.

Her face was now back to her normal uninterested air but it just made Brenia more furious. Her mood went from good to terrible in a split second because of this regular nonsense.

"Again with the rooms!" She shouted, not letting the woman answer. "Why do you always insist on having a second room?"

"Because I value my privacy, there's no way I'm undressing myself in the same room as you." She said as if it was an obvious answer.

"Come on, we're all woman here. Also, why in the world are you fine with those two seeing you half naked but not me?"

"They don't count, they're just servants." She answered with a deadpan face.

"Can't I just turn around and save the cost of a whole room instead of taking another room?" Brenia insisted feeling her head throb from the frustration.

Now it was Penny's turn to be shocked again.

"No, of course not! That would still be indecent. That's an unacceptable behavior, even for a brute like you. Can't you keep in mind that I'm a noble maiden."

Brenia's eyebrow twitched from being called a brute, again.

"Your noble sensibilities are eating at our funds faster than your magic does. You're wasting our money just because you're too prudish to let your only friend see you in a nightgown? We'll be out of money before we ever get close to our prey if you keep throwing it out just to spare your weak pride."

"Eh! How dare you! You should have thought of that before dragging me on the road like some low born huntress! There's a limit to how accommodating I can be and this is it. It's the least you can do after my skin has started peeling off and my feet got full of blisters!"

"You wouldn't have been inconvenienced at all by this bit of walking if you had not been trying to imitate an old clustered wizard! An hermit is what you are. Don't blame me for your poor physical condition, you should have listened to the combat teacher and got some exercises in then you wouldn't be like a walking bundle of sticks." (1)

Brenia regretted her words instantly, she made her angry, she knew. It wasn't like their usual banter, now she was well and truly upset. Brenia knew already how much Penny hated it when people spoke about her appearance, it just slipped out because of how frustrated she was. A walking bundle of sticks, definitely not the right thing to call her.

"You..." Penny seethed, her face quickly turning red.

Should she apologize right away? Maybe agreeing to get a second room would calm her slightly? How long did she even have to think about it before Penny managed to put her anger into words?

"Fine, I'll pay for that damned second room."

The terrible glare that answered her proved that she wasn't close to done apologizing for her words. In all likelihood, the mage would sound spiteful for days. She glanced over the counter towards the woman forced to listen to their quarrel.

She was given a weak smile of clear embarrassment and that was the last smile she saw of the day.

After that she had to withstand the anger of the mage for a long time. She kept apologizing over and over again while she was being called all sorts of things Brenia had never heard of. It was a real pain to do and she came close to start shouting back many times but she really needed the mage so she just endured.

Finally, Penny got tired of complaining and left for her room. Brenia let out a sigh feeling exhausted after all that and went to her own room. She collapsed on the bed dragging her two servants with her and slept like log regardless of how much the dogs barked outside.

The next morning, she found Penny with bags under her eyes, she had clearly not slept properly.

"Good morning Penny." She said.

She only got an angry stare as an answer. She wasn't all that surprised by this.

"Penny, you know I didn't mean to make you mad."

Brenia approached her friend who turned her head to the side with a pout. Clearly she didn't intend to say anything. She let out a sigh and thought about what to say next. Even thought they didn't get along all that well, she was a really good friend to her and she didn't want to see the mage mad all the time because of something so silly.

She needed her magic too.

"Sometimes, I just forget how sensitive you can be about your appearance."

It was easy to forget because she dressed with clothes so mismatched and ugly that anyone would think she didn't care. She couldn't possibly say that though.

"I'm not speaking until you've given me a proper apology."

Brenia felt her eyebrow twitch in anger at that. She apologized a good hundred times already! And what was that just now if it wasn't talking!

She held back a bitter comeback and grabbed the face of Penny instead to forcefully turn her towards herself.

"Penny, I'm really sorry alright. I didn't mean anything with what I said yesterday, I don't care what you look like. I only care about what's here in your head. You could be thin or fat, short or a giant, it wouldn't matter to me. Here, does it help if I do this?"

She moved forward and pulled the surprised mage into a hug. Against her expectations, she felt the arms of the mage wrap around her back too. She hadn't thought of her as the hugging type, she just did it in an attempt to soothe her and prove her words. Usually she struggled to get away but this was fine too.

"Are we good now?"

"Fine, I forgive you, you meat bag." She mumbled.

Meat bag?

"The meat bag is gonna crush you!"

She squeezed the thin mage into her arms until she squealed in a panic.

"Aio! I'm sorry please don't!"

Satisfied, Brenia let her go and Penny backed off a step. She looked mildly embarrassed as she hurriedly tugged at her own clothes to replace them.

"You don't really care about me though, you just want my help catching that battle mage."

"No, that's wrong. Even if I wasn't going after the mage, I'd still want you with me, it would just be harder to convince you."

"Really?"

"Of course really. Let's be honest with each other, neither of us have a lot of friends. We'd be pitiful without each other and you know it. Plus, we make a great team, we can both fill in for the other's weaknesses."

Penny hadn't expected that answer apparently. She didn't know what else to add and just stood there in pensive silence.

"It'd be perfect if you didn't waste our money on two rooms every time we get to an inn."

Her last statement quickly brought Penny back from her daydream.

"This is the least you can do after all that! It's only fair considering I have to endure all your nagging." She puffed.

"'My' nagging? You're the one always complaining."

"Well I'm not the one snickering all day and mocking her partner while she's too out of breath to defend herself now, am I?" She stated with an air of superiority.

That was a fair point, Brenia did do that a lot. She couldn't help it, Penny was such an easy target after an hour or two walking.

With that, it was time to go back to the road and look for the trail!

"I'm not nearly done yet!" Penny shouted, instantly guessing what Brenia was thinking.

Right, breakfast first. Maybe Penny would shut up then.

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(1) I know it's "a hermit" and not "an hermit" It's just that Brenia doesn't care.