WM [10] Final Days

WM [10] Final Days

Things around the palace were hectic for those in charge as the new administration had to reorganize how the city and domain would be run. Tanisha wasn’t a part of any of those meetings or decisions, but the maids and servants loved to gossip. The Tujewli Family would split, and the heir and his wife would start a new noble lineage. Soon, the domain would be the Jewel Domain under the brand-new Jewel Noble House.

“I heard that the city will be turned into a Free Economic Zone,” a maid said.Visitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates

“I never heard of that before, but it sounds fancy,” another maid whispered.

Tanisha decided her time would be better spent preparing for her trip to the Mesha. The trip would take about a month not counting the towns they would stop in to sell goods. The young woman didn’t take long to slip into a new routine.

She spent more time than she should have in Drew’s Herbal Emporium. She had to reintroduce herself as Sif since, like everyone else, he thought she was a different person. After that, she justified the hours she spent there because, of course, she needed to learn as much as possible if she was going to be a traveling alchemist. Not to mention, with the gold she got from the Princess, she could probably buy everything in his shop besides some truly legendary and practically one-of-a-kind draughts he had.

Physical training never stopped, even when they were in hiding. Training breathing, flexibility, combat, and magic was a routine. The days in the palace stretched on as she began to learn the next form of the Way of the Rakshasa. She was still a novice of the third form, AgniKavach, the Fire Armor, but Joha explained that mastery came from seeing the weaknesses of each form and filling that gap with the other forms. One of the biggest problems with AgniKavach was the lack of offensive options, which she desperately needed when she fought Thyra.

The second form, VritraVajra, the Thunder Dragon, would fill in some of that gap. They were both defensive forms, but where AgniKavach was about taking damage and pushing through it with unbeatable defense, VritraVajra was about redirecting that damage back at the opponent, using the enemies’ momentum, movements, and magic against them. The second form was more free-flowing than the restrictive and tight movements of the third form. Joha was trying to teach her to do the opposite of what she had been learning.

On top of that, Tanisha found a new problem. Her center of balance had changed since she was taller, and apparently, her tiara was more extensive and, therefore, heavier. Now, when she was learning forms, she also had to follow Joha’s intricate tail movements without thinking about it. The ground became Tanisha’s best but unwanted friend during each combat training session.

“Ouch!” Tanisha exclaimed as she hit the ground hard.

Bjorn fell beside her a moment later. The two had been tossed nearly half the length of the training field.

“Your teamwork has improved,” Joha said as red maya slowly disappeared from around him.

“Why doesn’t it seem like it?” Tanisha complained as she picked herself off the ground and rubbed her aching back. “We haven’t been able to hit you once.”

“And yet you managed to defeat a Hand I would have had trouble with,” Joha said matter-of-factly.

“That was more luck than anything.”

“Well, let’s see if we can replicate that luck. Are there any changes to your numbers on your mental projection magic?”

“Huh, I don’t know. I haven’t checked it in a while. One second, let me do that,” Tanisha said as she opened her status menu.

Status Menu

Name: Tanisha Scalebound

Species: Cernunnos

Level: 32

Vitality: 50

Restoration: 45

Constitution: 100

Willpower: 130

Strength: 55

Dexterity: 80

Stamina: 48

Seiðr: 470

Seiðr Regeneration: 35 + 200 = 235 (+100 from bond)

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Skills Analysis

Bjorn watched as Tanisha said goodbye to everyone outside of the Fort Palace. He was surprised that even the First Princess and the Hands attended their sendoff. The Isi showed en masse, members who were not in the inner city during the attack. Friends and family of those that were killed, even town guards that would have been under suspicion had the First Prince and Salstars won the city.

The princess presented Tanisha with a bracelet and did the same for Joha. They were some storage devices given the magic that Bjorn could taste in the air, similar to Tanisha’s necklace from the Isi.

“Are you sure, your majesty? You have already given us so much,” Tanisha questioned.

“I am. Please be safe on your journey,” Sigrun said. “You both are friends of my faction. If you travel to any domain with nobles loyal to my ascension to the throne, show them these, and they will treat you as honored guests.”

Tanisha and Joha thanked her, and she quickly left to take care of other matters. It was also so everyone could relax. She knew her presence would only make things formal when this moment was emotional for many people. Most of them had come to see Joha and Bjorn off, as many people did not know that Sif was Tanisha. They thought she was another demon and Joha’s partner, which helped keep the fact that she was an evolved greater wendigo a secret.

Tyr was one of the few people who knew Sif was Tanisha, and the two hugged before it was finally time to go. A brand new wagon and horses were ready for the trip. Bjorn tasted a scent he hadn’t in a few days when he flicked his tongue. Owen, Caleb, and Wyatt all walked through the crowd. The two boys instantly ran up to Bjorn and hugged him first, only because he was the closest, then Tanisha, and finally Joha, who picked them up.

“Glad I caught ya before ya left,” Owen said with a smile.

“Owen, I am glad you made it too,” Tanisha responded teary-eyed.

“Well, bend down so I can give you a proper hug,” Owen said while motioning with one hand for Tanisha to get closer. “You have gotten too tall.”

Tanisha smiled and happily bent down and, for the first time, could return the goblin’s gesture of closeness by wrapping her tail around him as Helena had done for her so many times. She could hear the goblin sniffle, so she nuzzled him a bit, which was the wendigo’s expression of closeness. Bjorn decided to join in and nuzzled them both.

Owen eventually broke out of the emotional support soup and quickly wiped his face. He coughed and blinked a few times to clear his eyes as he walked to Joha, who was setting down the boys.

“Joha, take care of yourself and that little troublemaker,” Owen said, he as he reached out his hand for Joha to grasp and nudged his head toward Tanisha.

“Hey!” she said with mock hurt.

Joha took the open palm in a firm shake. “I will, friend, and you take care of yourself too.”

“So, this is your new wagon?” Owen asked. “Looks pretty good, although it is a little low for you, Tanisha.”

“Oh, that is not my wagon,” Tanisha said. “I am keeping my old one that just had it repaired and repainted.” A box appeared in Tanisha’s hand. “That is yours. I know your old one was destroyed in the raid, so I wanted to ensure that my favorite goblin merchant had a replacement and that he and his family were taken care of.” Tanisha handed Owen the box but stopped him from opening it by placing her hand over his. “I want you to know, Owen, that whatever is in that box is yours. Don’t try to give it back.”

Owen opened the box and nearly dropped it as his hands shook. “Tanisha... I... I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” Tanisha said firmly, with a wink.

She closed the small box before Bjorn could see what was inside. The two hugged again, this time for longer. As they walked around Owen’s new wagon, Tanisha’s repaired merchant wagon and Joha’s foreign one were both on the other side. Joha could store the whole wagon in his maya, and he had it the entire time. He was given a new horse, as he couldn’t store living things, and his old one had either run off or died during the attack.

Everyone waved as Joha led the way out of the Fort Palace. Tanisha turned to Bjorn, who was curled up on the box seat. She modified it so he could sit up there with her until he grew to his larger size again. She petted him as her emotions were all over the place, to the point he couldn’t read them through the bond, so he just nuzzled her a bit. Together, they said their goodbyes to the Fort City of Lavi.