Chapter 55: Interruptions and Progress

Chapter 55: Interruptions and Progress

Tala turned, breakfast in hand, sweet solitude awaiting her atop Dens cargo wagon, behind. Ashin. Its been too long.

The young man smiled as he jogged up to stop beside her. Good morning, Mistress Tala.

Good morning. She waited for a moment, but when he didnt say anything further, she smiled. What can I do for you? Sohungrynôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

Did I see you sparring with Guardsman Adam earlier?

She shrugged. Sort of. It seemed more like him throwing me to the ground, and then telling me how I should have avoided it. She smiled weakly.

Oh okay. He glanced over his shoulder, then back. So, if you need another sparring partner, I have a different shift than Adam, and Id be happy to help.

Oh! Thats actually a kind offer. Thank you, Ashin, thats kind of you. She hesitated. Do you know the methods that Adam uses? It might slow down my progress if I get differing information.

He waved that away. In a sparring partner, differing styles can actually be really helpful, past a certain point. But thats not what youre asking. Adam was actually one of my teachers, before he started taking breaks from his role as a trainer to pull caravan duty. Ive not seen him in a few years. A happy smile settled onto his face. Im glad to have had this journey to catch up, actually.

Im glad to hear it. She glanced down at her food, then back to Ashin. It could be really nice to keep progressing Yes.

Yes?

Yes. Not now, obviously. She slightly lifted her tray to indicate that she was about to eat. Are you free inan hour?

Definitely! Yeah. Ill come to the wagon? It would probably be interesting, fighting on a moving surface.

Yeah. She was suddenly a bit uncertain. Ill see you, then.

He nodded, waved, and went on his way.

Huh. That might work out well. She turned and finished the trek to her wagon. She climbed just enough that she was able to slip the tray onto the roof above her when another voice called out to her.

Mistress Tala!

You have to be rusting kidding me. She sighed, making sure the tray was secure on top of the wagon before climbing back down to face her new accoster. Master Rane?

Rane stopped just out of arms reach and gave a shallow bow. Good morning, Mistress Tala.

Good morning, Master Rane.

They stood for a moment in frustrated and awkward silence.

Finally, Tala cleared her throat. Can I help you with something?

Oh! Right. Yes. Did I see a guardsman throwing you around, earlier?

Was the whole caravan watching? She sighed, again. Ive no way of knowing what you saw or didnt see, but I am learning to fight, yes.

Why?

Because if one is bad at something, one very rarely succeeds. If I fight, I want to win. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. Tala, youve no idea why hes here. Give the man a moment. Why do you ask?

He was frowning. Most active magic is focused on ranged engagement. Why do you want to fight anything up close?

I dont want to. She purposely did not recall the instance of slapping a thunder bull upside the head with an ending stick. I am learning so that if it happens, Im not an open extract over the fire.

A what?

She shook her head. A fish out of water?

Ahh.

They stood for another long moment, Tala thinking about her cooling breakfast. So?

Oh! So, if you are learning close up fighting, Id love to spar sometimes. Id be a terrible teacher, but it would be fun to test each other at some point.

Well, Im very much just starting, so youd likely destroy me, but maybe?

Master Grediv always says that attrition is the best teacher.

He sounds lovely. Maybe, I dont want to maintain contact with that man. He sounds like kind of a jerk. She almost snorted a laugh. He was kind of a jerk.

Oh, hes alright. After I got used to being thrown into combat, it was actually kind of fun. He smiled, but there was a hint of sadness there. Oh! I forgot. Did I hear you mention, to Master Trent, that you are interested in harvests?

She perked up. Yes. Why?

Well, to tell the truth, Ive been missing combatIs there anything in particular youd like?

She thought of Terry and grinned. Yes, actually. Id love all the thunder bull meat you could help me acquire.

Virtually all of her reserves were gone in an instant, though the ending-berry power remained untouched.

Weariness slapped her upside the head, and she was barely able to stay conscious enough to catch the drop in the vial, cap it, and return the vial and knife to her pouch.

Well done, Tala, way to lose focus in the eleventh hour.

She groaned, curling up in a ball and succumbing to sleep.

* * *

Tala awoke, sitting up with a groan.

Her eyes were stuck shut with sleep, and she rubbed them to clear the crustiness.

She blinked into full wakefulness, looking out at a late afternoon sky. Well, rust.

Den turned to look at her, and he smiled. Hello! Guardsmen Adam and Ashin each stopped by, separately, and asked me to let you know such. Brand left you that. He nodded towards a new tray of food, though it was cold, now. And he took away your breakfast tray. He also said that hed have refilled your coffee jug, if he could find it. He smiled back at her.

Oh, no! Do you know where the Guardsmen are now?

Den shrugged. On duty, or asleep, Id wager.

Tala sighed, feeling quite guilty. I cant believe I missed our sparring and training times Thank you, Den. And thank you, Brand. She yawned. I didnt mean to sleep.

He laughed, turning forward. Youre doing something wrong then, Mistress.

She grinned ruefully, even though she knew he couldnt see. Youre not wrong.

She pulled the food towards herself and ate without really noticing what it was. She had a vague sense that it was good, but that was really all. Coffee She was irritated that he hadnt brought more. Why didnt he Her eyes widened. WellI forgot.

She reached into Kit and pulled out the full jug of coffee that Brand had given her that morning. To her surprise, it was hot. How is that possible? She looked down at Kit. Are you a perfect insulator? On some level, that made sense. The pouch could nearly perfectly isolate items, thus preserving them in an almost steady state.

The pouch did not respond.

Oh, well. The earthenware was actually quite hot to the touch, likely fully equalized with the coffee it contained. She bore through the discomfort and drank deeply, washing her late lunch down with gusto. Thats so much better.

Thank you, Kit.

Kit did not respond.

Tala stood and stretched. Right, so dont lose focus at the end or the stupid Archon star will take everything it can on the way out. She pulled out the iron vial and opened it, looking in with enough focus to key off her mage-sight.

The star was radiating at least four times the power of any of her previous stars, and she felt ecstatic at the discovery. True, a chunk of that had been because of her mistake at the end, and she was not going to replicate that, but it still meant that she was improving, quickly.

That verified, she stored the vial and went through her exercises: Muscular, spiritual, magical, and martial. It was becoming a lengthy regimen.

Now done, and feeling very content in her efforts, she sat down to empower her items. She fed Kit up to nearly bursting, topped off her clothing and the hammer, and finally, she decided to increase the knifes capacity. I need to find a name for you at some point. Perhaps, it would be wisest to wait until the knife demonstrated what it could really do. Yeah, you should earn a name. She smiled at that.

In a very similar process to creating the Archon star, Tala opened her gate wide, and channeled the power directly into the knife, though she didnt form the power, or otherwise attempt to influence it beyond that. She didnt have to be touching the weapon, so she left it sitting a few feet from her.

It didnt feel any different or harder than giving the knife power when it was in her hand, but she thought it couldnt hurt. Best case, this is a bit harder, and its good exercise.

The knife had started with a relatively weak Archon star, mainly because the stars she was creating were incredibly weak. Thankfully, as Grediv had assured her, she found that she could increase the power of the connection, and thus the power residing within the knife, simply by giving the tool an influx of magic.

The power she gave was more effective than when she built it into an Archon star. Thus, over the next hour she pushed the knifes capacity to almost double its previous capacity. Not sure why thats useful, but yeah! Progress.

As she was finishing up, she let out a contented sigh, and got Dens attention. Anything else eventful happen?

Den glanced back at her, then hesitated. You did have one other visitor, but he asked me not to tell youa few things. He took a deep breath and let it out. Mistress, I understand that, because Im here it makes sense for me to pass along messages as such, but it really isnt my job. He gave a sympathetic look. Im not cut out to be a footman or servant or anyone who has to make potentially political decisions. He frowned.

Den! Im so sorry. I never meant for you to be a message service, or anything like that.

He waved her away. Oh, I know. Thats not what I meant. I mean that: Ive information that I would normally simply tell you, but Ive been asked to not do so by someone I dont really know.

It was Talas turn to frown. Is someone ordering you about, Den?

Not really. He let out an exasperated sigh. Please just Take your dishes to Brand. Yes? Hell handle it better than I will

Tala smiled and patted him on the shoulder before climbing down the ladder. I will, Den. Thank you, and Im sorry.

Its fine, its fine. Juststop having so many suitors, maybe?

She colored. Den. It isnt like that. Brand and Adam are both married!

He shook his head. But the other two gentlemen dont seem to be. Though, if their actions are any indication, theyre open to the idea.

Blushing further, Tala cleared her throat. Im not addressing that She glanced back towards Den, seeing laughter dancing in his eyes, though he had the good grace to not give voice to it. I guess I shouldnt hold his good humor against him If there is ever anything I can do for you, please let me know?

I will. Thank you, Mistress.