Chapter Text
"Eyes ahead. " Aldric barked, slamming his wooden sword against his opponent, staggering her. "You already know where your sword is. Between your fingers." Flicking his wrist, he slipped the wooden 'blade' under his pupil's wrist. "Ideally, that is."
"Sorry." She apologized, sucking in a quick breath. Sweat dripped from both of their foreheads. "It's hard to aim if I don't watch it."
"It'll get easier." Aldric lowered his sword arm. "Keep practicing, and it'll soon feel like an extension of your arm. You don't watch your hand when you throw a fist, right?"
His pupil's eyes lit up. "Ah, right!"
"Go take a break, drink some water." Sighing, the older man surveyed the room. Teens and young adults littered the sparring circles, wood striking wood and if he was lucky, padded armor. "Send Sybil over, she looks like she's having way too much fun over there."
"Heh. I will. Thank you, sir!"
His pupil scampered off, leaving Aldric a moment of respite himself. So hot in here… He griped, rubbing his shirt on his damp face. I'm not even wearing armor. Who's bright idea was it to put the training halls so close to the blacksmithing area?
"Sir?" Sybil stood in front of him, sword already drawn into a ready stance. "Clara said you wanted to spar me?"
"It's not exactly a want." Aldric readied his blade. Sybil was one of his best students. It wasn't often he sparred a student that left him bruised. "I'm a teacher. I can tell when someone is playing, instead of learning."
"I wasn't playing, I was winning! " Despite her eagerness, Sybil still waited for Aldric to strike first.
"As a cat 'wins' against a mouse." Aldric chuckled. He faked a step forward, noting with satisfaction how Sybil braced herself instead of flinched.
"Are you a dog, then? Come to eat the cat?"
"I wouldn't say so." Only then did Aldric swing his sword, an easily-defended opening move. Sybil deflected, her eyes narrowing as the exchange of blows began. "More like a bird."
"Cats eat birds." Sybil attempted to catch Aldric's elbow, but he dodged and countered.
"Not ravens." Wood smacked against smoothed wood, louder and louder as their blows sped up. "Raven's tug the cat's tail." With a swift jerk, he tapped Sybil's shoulder.
"You can hit me harder than that! " Sybil backed up, positioning herself for round two.
"He's showing off." A new voice joined them. "It's harder to land a hit while you lower the power used to swing the sword."
Aldric turned his head to address his friend. "I'm teaching. " He said, a wry smile betraying his pride. "What's up, Dec?"
Decima, the head of the Adventurer's Guild, smirked back. "Bold of you to show your back while in the middle of a fight."
Aldric rolled his eyes. "I can hear her sneaking behind me, you know." He listened as Sybil's footsteps faltered.
"Not that it wasn't a good idea." Aldric looked back at Sybil. "The execution was just a bit flawed. Next time focus solely on the attack– not also on eavesdropping."
Sybil nodded. Her eyes scanned his body, searching for weak points.
Aldric turned back to Decima. "Anyways, what–"
White pin-prick stars swirled in his vision, a sudden jolting pain racing from the back of his head through his spine, hitting every nociceptor on the way down. His stomach jerked as vertigo hit him, and it took every muscle in his body to not fall to his knees as he staggered. The flesh of his fingers turned white as they gripped the hilt of his sword. Even as his vision blurred and tilted, sound replaced with a high-pitched ring, his hand knew to let go of the sword meant death.
After a few seconds of Aldric wholly focused on staying upright, the ringing in his ears faded, replaced with Decima's laughter.
"She got you good, Ricky!"
"Sir?" Sybil looked up at him with wide eyes. "Are you ok?"
"..." Aldric blinked. "...Ow." He said in disbelief. "Was that you, Sybil?"
His pupil nodded. "Am I in trouble?"
"Trouble? Of course not." Decima grinned. "That was a good move, kid."
Aldric gingerly felt the back of his head, wincing as his fingers grazed an already-forming bump. "Shit, Sybil. That was a solid hit. Nicely done."
"Thank you!" Reassured, Sybil's whole face lit up in pride. "I did what you said! Focus on attacking as soon as your guard drops."
"Mmhm." Aldric really wanted to sit down, but his stubbornness kept him standing. "Surprised my advice worked?" He chuckled.
"A little." Sybil admitted.
"I'd say we should upgrade you to a metal sword, but I'm not so sure." Decima swung an arm around Aldric, jostling the already-nauseous man. "Can't have you lopping off the head of my favourite swordsman."
"If my guard's dropped, I deserve it." Aldric tossed his sword to the ground with a sigh. "I yield."
Sybil's hands leapt up to her mouth. Aldric hadn't thought her eyes could get any wider, but they did. "I win? I WIN!"
"..." Aldric groaned quietly as her hooting got the room's attention.
"What hurts more, your head or your pride?" Decima whispered in his ear.
"Shut up." Aldric murmured back, both aching.
Class was dismissed shortly after that, Aldric congratulating them all on their training but especially praising Sybil for her success. As much as Aldric hated getting whacked in the head by a student– he was pleased with her progression. Sometimes the cat does get the raven. He mused, heading into the private change room.
Decima followed him in, watching as he immediately collapsed on the nearest wooden bench. "Been a while since you've gotten a hit like that, huh?"
"Yeah." Aldric sighed. "It's all your fault. You knew what you were doing, distracting me."
"It's hardly my fault that you get distracted by me." His old friend winked at him. "A proper teacher would have paused the match."
"You didn't hire a proper teacher though, did you?" Aldric slowly stripped off his shirt, revealing rows of scars. "You hired a seasoned adventurer who knows that battles don't just 'pause'."
"And I did that intentionally." Decima said smoothly.
"Hmph. Intentionally getting me off the field, maybe." Aldric ran a hand through his wet hair. It felt like he had already taken a shower, though the dry floors told otherwise.
"Hey, you gotta face it eventually, Rick. We're old now. Leave the adventuring to the younger folk. It's our job to lead and train them."
"I know, I know…" Aldric stood. "I just get restless, you know that."
"One blow to the head nearly took you out." Decima scoffed. "Going back out there will just end with another grave."
"Oh screw off, it wasn't that bad–"
"I could feel you resting all your weight on me, Aldric. Don't machismo me."
"..." Aldric avoided his friend's serious eyes. "Get out of here, I'm gonna shower."
"A dismissal and an invitation all in one sentence…"
"Out, or I'm telling the whole Guild that its leader is secretly a massive sleaz. "
"Only for you." Decima cooed, but to their credit, they did leave. "Come to my office once you're dry. I do actually have something to discuss with you."
Aldric slipped into Decima's office, immediately heading to the mini-fridge.
"Most people knock." Decima said from their desk.
"Ah, sorry." Aldric politely knocked on the mini-fridge door, before opening it and helping himself to a strawberry-flavoured sparkling water. He grinned as Decima tossed a wadded-up paper ball at him.
"Cheeky bastard. Come sit down." They sighed good-naturedly.
"Mhm. right, So, what's up?" Aldric took a sip from his nice cold drink. "Did you finally approve my request for a raise?"
"I've already told you, we can't pay you in food. I think that's illegal."
"Well, I'm running out of room for all the coins."
"Have you heard of the concept of a bank? "
"Yeah. and I ain't giving them one cent."
"Anyways. Let's get back on track."
Only a bit of banter? Is something seriously up? Aldric wondered as Decima organized some papers on their desk.
"So, we've received a request from Mistria. I'm sure you've heard of the town? It's not far from here, down on the coast."
"Uh…yeah. Decent cheese from there, if I remember. Didn't they also have a flood or something recently?"
"Earthquake." Decima corrected him. "A pretty big one. It's done some serious damage to the town and surrounding area. They've sent in a request for aid."
"Poor them. Payment or no?"
"Payment."
"Well, that's a no brainer. Put up a flyer in the lobby and I'm sure someone short on coins will pick it up." Aldric shrugged.
"That's the thing. There are variables at play that make this a yes brainer." Decima's eyes glimmered.
"Magic." Aldric guessed, knowing Decima's specialty. Whenever there was something magic-related, Decima had to have some fingers in the pot.
"Bingo. That earthquake…I'm not sure it was entirely natural. And, regardless, it's stirred things up. There's reports of magical mists and monsters in the area. They've got an old mine down there, so…"
"Monster heaven." Aldric mused. "So this isn't any newbie task. Is the Baron aware of the danger?"
"The Baron here in the Capital. Right now his daughter, Lady Adeline, runs the town. Based on her letter, she is a very capable leader and has extensive plans on repairing the town– but, she didn't mention the monsters. Given we are an adventuring guild, to overlook that…I'm assuming she doesn't know. While there's legends, modern Mistria isn't known for its magic…prowess."
"So they don't understand what they could possibly be sitting on top of."
"But you and I do. Old pockets of ground have spilled open, with ancient magic…this is a massive opportunity, Aldric! Who knows what can be discovered. The legends of Mistria whisper of dragons. "
"Very exciting. So, are you going yourself?" Aldric said in a not-excited voice. Magic is all well and good, but I prefer a sharp blade to mana any day of the week.
"There's a part of the letter I haven't fully explained." Decima gave him a strange look, causing Aldric's skin to crawl. "The request for aid wasn't for a team of builders, miners, nothing like that– they simply don't have the funds for it. They only want one person. 'A capable adventuer'."
"One! That's optimistic."
"They put in compelling incentives. This chosen of the Adventurer's Guild gets a quite large plot of farmland. It's practically the same size as the town itself. Not to mention cash and item rewards as the Town Rank increases."
"Farmland." Aldric tilted his head. "Property in general isn't a horrible payment, but given the earthquake I doubt the land is worth much currently."
"Once Lady's Adeline's plans come into fruition…I think it has the potential to make millions. The town just needs a lil TLC first."
"Well, good luck finding a volunteer." Aldric sipped more of his drink. "Not sure how much overlap there is between magic, monster-slaying, and farming."
"Actually, I've already picked someone out."
"Poor sod." Aldric chuckled. "They agreed?"
"Not sure yet." Decima leaned towards Aldric, their green eyes glinting. "Do you?"
"...huh?"
"Do you agree to go?"
Aldric looked blankly at his friend, convinced he was mishearing things. "You care to repeat that, O great and wise Guild leader?"
"Aldric, my oldest, dearest friend. I come to you with a humble request, most befitting of a man of your experience and position–"
"Cut the crap. You want ME to go be a farmer for this busted town?"
"Yes. In fact, it's…less a request and more of a direct order." Decima had the gall to give Aldric an apologetic look. "You leave next week."
"You can't be serious!" Aldric stood, setting down his drink with enough force to splash droplets of water across Mistria's letter. "Me? I don't farm, I don't fix up buildings or bridges or whatever– I kill things with my sword. That's it."
"A new path has opened up for you, Aldric." The calmness of the Guild Leader's voice made Aldric want to throw things. "This isn't a matter of discussion. You either go to Mistria, or you're out of the Guild."
"You son of a–" Aldric grit his teeth together, fighting back a whole slew of unsavoury words. His headache, persistent since the sparring lesson, ached worse. He hated the thought of working on a farm with his whole being, but the thought of leaving the Guild…he just couldn't do it. With a long, heavy sigh, he accepted his sentence. ".......How long? How long will I be stuck out in the boonies?"
Decima smiled. "As long as it takes."
"I hate this."
"I know. But, you wanted to get back out on the field."
"Not literal fields! Sure, I'll go kill monsters, but do I have to farm?"
"Yes. Think of it as a sort of cover– we don't want to worry anyone by having someone blatantly searching the land for monsters and magic. Nor do we want to attract unwanted attention…"
"You owe me. You owe me fucking big time."
"I do." Decima nodded. "But I think in the end, you'll be thanking me."