Agnes stared at the molweds waving back and forth in the field.
A : (... Why?... Of all the places for them to grow, WHY HERE!? AND WHY SO MANY!?...)
Molweds are a very special type of plant - They are a magical plant with a vibrant yellow, spongy flower that can release a scream-like sound when something is going to step on, or hurt them. Even when removed from the plant, the flowers and stems of the molwed can continually release a scream, which makes handling molweds an advanced trial for florists and herbalists alike. Fire is useless against such a plant, because of the spongy flower protecting it against such magic. The frequency of the screech is dependent on the quality of the soil it grows on, the air's humidity, and many other factors yet researched upon. Progress on them is hard enough as it is, due to the tricky nature of the molweds themselves.
Because of this, when molweds grow in large areas like the field itself, merely crossing the field makes multiple molweds go off, and they can actually cause splitting headaches and the like. This feature has normally been exploited for emulating the effects of an excited, cheering crowd, but strictly speaking they are not to be trifled with. As a defensive mechanism, it is worthy of applause, but it means that the only people who can interact with them without discomfort are deaf people, which makes removing molweds a big problem because they scream when not properly disposed of.
Agnes had wanted to travel towards Rulid, in order to deliver supplies to other, amateur magechanics whom required the training tools in his backpack. However, in his journey towards Rulid, he had come across this startlingly large field that consists almost purely out of molweds, which stand in his path. It would be hard traversing around such a large and troublesome area, while cutting and destroying the plant would only worsen the current situation.
It would be appropriate to say that this is no small obstacle.
A : (Ahh... What do I do?... Do I take care of this immediately, so nobody else would have to handle this field in the future? That would be best, but it would take too long. Or do I just try my best to waddle through this place? I have never seen such a large number of molweds in my life... If I make a wrong move, I might faint in the middle of the field and never wake ever again...)
Agnes is clearly having trouble deciding what to do in a situation like this. He thought about it for a while, and debated over using his tool to cross the field, or to simply walk around it.
A : (Forming a snuffler is probably the most efficient way, but it's going to cost me a few of these Uzab runes, and they probably don't sell any of these high-powered runes there... If I make a glider here, I can probably smooth my way over this field, but that's going to deplete the runes quickly too. If I form a bridge, it's going to be a while before I can cross the field, not to mention if I build it too low, it's going to trigger the molweds anyway... Or maybe I should just walk around these, and save my runes?... Aaahhhh! It's so hard to decide!!...)
Agnes looked around for a better solution or at least some form of inspiration or guidance on what he should choose. Finally, with nothing else but the barren rocks and the trees, Agnes stopped to think about it.
A : (... I'm going to stick with crossing it directly - There's not much time left. I can't think of which to use though - The snuffler, or the bridge? The glider is going to cost the most, so that's a no. The snuffler drains the runes continuously, and I would need to run as fast as I can before they deplete. I'm going to have to save at least 3 for Rulid... The bridge is slow, and it's useless if it's too low, but if I do it right, I only need to burn a single rune...)
Agnes looked at his surroundings once more.
A : (... I guess I'll spin around and around, with my eyes closed, until I no longer know which way is which. The next time I open my eyes, if I see the trees, I'll build a snuffler. If I see the rocks, I'll build a bridge.)
Agnes put his luggage down, closed his eyes, and began to spin. Balancing his weight on his right foot, he kicked his left foot against the ground, forming a circular momentum. He spun and spun, until he no longer knew which direction he was facing. He spun until his ability to balance went awry, and he collapsed onto the floor.
*** ***
Agnes laid down his tools, and placed a Uzab rune written on a wooden tablet, on the center of the circle. With a chant, the pile of rocks in the surroundings floated slightly, and came together to form a straight row of stones. Connecting them to each other was an occasional spark of electricity, to align the stones should they drift too far apart.
On his left hand formed a sort of magic circle composed of tiny, blue transparent stones and a single, small piece of ruby, exact in shape when compared to the bridge. It seemed as though it were a small-scale model of the bridge itself, with the ruby being where Agnes is.
A : (... Okay. The bridge's stabilized.)
Slowly, Agnes stepped onto the small floating stones one by one, testing its stability. As he walked further and further onto the bridge, he shifted the pieces at the far end of his hand toward the front, which in turn the pieces at the beginning of the bridge began floating towards the half-complete end of the bridge, and it slowly formed a bridge suspended purely by the Uzab rune.
A : (... Steady... Slowly now. I don't want to fall and land amongst these molweds...)
Agnes made his way through the field slowly, when suddenly, something whished past his face.
A : "!?" (What... Was that?... It's not safe. Rearrange the stones to form a circle around myself first...)
Agnes shifted the stones on his left hand around, and formed a fanning, circular shape around the ruby. The stones floated about, and formed the same circle around Agnes.
With the platforms now around him, he had a good chance to glance around and observe what was happening. Agnes looked around the field, to find only the rocks, trees, molweds and the wind around him.
A : (... Nothing at all? That was so fast, I couldn't even see the blur. That was probably a galerider... I haven't seen anything fly that fast and silently. What a pity - Galeriders aren't that common in Auser, and I've only seen illustrations of them, so the thought of missing one that flew right by me is kind of depressing. Still, if there are galeriders around, it's not going to be safe forming a bridge. I've already come this far, so I'll have to go the extra mile and use another rune then.)
Agnes felt up a second wooden tablet, and the Uzab rune faded off. He picked up the ruby with his left hand, which caused all the blue stones to float off his hand and in the general position they were before, now suspended around the ruby. With the ruby pinched between his fingers, Agnes mentally arranged a few of the stones such that they formed little platforms before himself.
He simply walked forward normally, with the stones placed at just the right angles.
He was walking with the stones forming up at just beneath his feet, allowing him to walk safely.
He raised a few stones to around his chest level, to grip onto them should the galerider return and throw him off-balance somehow.
With his safety nets in place, Agnes continued walking.
*** ***
Agnes finally made it to the end of the field, in one piece.
He looked around for a new replacement body, and found a funny looking, thorny vine growing on a rather large rock. Walking atop the rock, Agnes slowly and carefully set down the ruby onto the rock, and hopped out of the areas of danger.
With a snap, the blue stones clumped together around the ruby.
With that same snap, the stones floating about attracted and melded themselves onto the large rock, forming an interesting sculpture of sorts. The ruby on the rocks popped loose, and floated back onto his hands.
A : (It was a bit of a waste, because that galerider never came back... Oh well. I might as well make the most out of the rune if I've already used this much.)
Agnes crashed his butt onto the ground for a slight moment of recovery, and took the chance to admire his sculpture while recovering his stamina.
A : (... I'm not sure what to make of the shape... It kind-of looks like a little girl, with twin tails and really stiff hair- ! Who's that?)
Behind his sculpture, was a red-haired young lady of about 16 years, wielding a large, gray greatsword.
She was walking steadily towards him, poised for an attack. With a slash, she sliced the sculpture cleanly in half.
A : (-! Whoa!!! Whoa, whoa, whoa! I better get back!)
Agnes rolled backwards, and planted his feet onto the ground before springing up and backwards, away from the warrior and her ridiculous strength.
A : (Is she a friend or foe?) "Who are you?!"
Wordlessly, the young lady ran forth and smacked Agnes on his left side, with the sword's fuller. It may be an act of mercy to spare the weapon's bladed edges, but the strength of the swing was tremendous, even for her size.
In a single blow, Agnes was knocked out cold from the numbing pain.
*** ***
Cackling sounds filled his ears. Agnes woke up to a campfire, with the red-haired girl sitting on a rotting log and enjoying the warmth of the flames.
A : "... Ugh... My side..."
Agnes clutched his left, still in a sore, slightly swollen state.
"You're awake."
A : "... And you are very rude to attack me like that. If you weren't going to kill me, at least knock me out with less pain, or something!"
"Ahh, I see. I'll keep that in mind for my next target."
A : (Next target? What, is she a traveling berserker looking for people to fight? That's a bit too crazy, isn't it?) "What do you mean, next target?"
The red-haired girl looked away from the flames, and locked eyes with Agnes. Her greenish irises reflected the light from the campfire, making her look like some sort of powerful monster with glowing eyes.
R : "... I am Roberia. Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Roberia. Remember that name, will you?"
A : (... She dodged my question... Remember her name? Well, it's not like I want to remember her name, but that blow to the side really is formidable. She didn't use the bladed edges of the sword, and was still able to numb my whole body in a single attack. Her slender image surfaces in my mind whenever I think about this pain... I guess I can respect that and at least remember her name.) "... Okay?"
R : "... Good."
Roberia goes back to staring at the flames silently, enjoying its warmth against the cold field.
A : (... Why does she even want me, a traveler, to remember her name? Is she trying to build a reputation for herself in these parts or something?... Well, a girl of her physique landing such a blow really is worthy of praise, I suppose. She said that her name was Matalpal... Matalpal-something. That surname of hers is really troublesome to remember. Is this a joke or something?...)
R : "Hey, stranger."
A : (? What does she want?) "What?"
R : "You don't mind if I, er, take all the coin in your pouch, do you?"
A : (What!? She's taking all my gold!? That's brutal!) "What?!"
R : "Well, you see, stranger, my backpack is much smaller than yours. I don't travel with a lot of things. My goal is to practice and train my stamina by running to the next town and sleeping at the inns there. But, see, you weren't strong enough and fainted on the first hit. I had wanted to simply immobilize you, see? I had just wanted to make you lie on the floor, conscious, take your money as usual, say my name and run to Rulid immediately. But you fainted, so I had to set up for the night here using your stuff, see? So... I'll be taking all your coin."
A : (... Unbelievable... She had been running from town to town, and used that alone as a form of training? Hastily making her way around, fighting and beating up any travelers on her routes, and taking their belongings...)
R : "So, uh, see, stranger... I'm not comfortable with people looking at my sleeping face. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave, see?"
A : "You take and use my stuff without permission, and you expect me to leave in the middle of the freezing night?! Who the hell do you think you are!?"
R : "..."
A : "I mean, come on! I have had the worst luck these few days! Sneaking past an Earthtiger with all my stuff clinking and clanking and almost getting killed, dealing with thieves at night, having to handle the urgency of the problem in Rulid, crossing a field full of molweds nobody's bothered to clear, and all of that, all my effort of trying to cope with the time, wasted by you?! Give me a break, Dardicel!!! Stop throwing all these trials at me when I'm actually busy!!! Why does it have to be me anyway?!"
R : "..."
A : "... Sorry. I overreacted a little bit there. I wasn't quite myself... I really had it bad these past few days."
R : "... If it makes you happy, I've only taken your gold and borrowed your groundsheet. I haven't touched any of those other things in your backpack. I only have a problem sleeping when someone else is nearby, see?"
A : (? She's not going to take all my stuff?... Oh... She's not a marauder or a bandit, she's just a traveling warrior who needs coin. It makes sense, since she did mention that she is going to stay at the inns in the town. She can't possibly have an infinite amount of gold on her to keep staying at those kinds of fancy places. She didn't look like she touched the training tools... That's a relief.) "... Oh. Good, good. Leave those as they are, please. I need them to teach other magechanics how to reconstruct and repair a bridge properly."
R : "... And, well, if you come back tomorrow morning, you'll find your groundsheet to be intact. If you come back early enough and not have it snatched away by some wild animal, I mean."
A : (For a warrior, at least she seems civilized enough to return my belongings. A warrior... Rugnud?) "... Would you happen to be from Rugnud, by any chance?"
R : "... Yes. I am. Please leave soon and allow me to sleep, stranger. I need the energy for tomorrow, see? And I haven't slept well for a long time, since I've come out from Rugnud, see?"
A : (... She means no harm. Her eyes aren't wide open - She simply just wants to rest. I guess I could grant her that as a penalty instead of death, seeing how I did lose to her, after all.) "Okay. Consider this... Consider this as a thank-you, for sparing my life."
Agnes staggered away from the campsite slowly, clutching his side still throbbing in pain.
*** ***
It had been less than an hour.
The sun had already risen in such a short time.
A : (... 'Tomorrow' sure came quickly... I wonder if she's still asleep at the campsite?)
Agnes applied pressure on his swollen left side with his left arm, and slowly walked towards the campsite. Upon reaching, there were only the groundsheet, and the glowing remains of a campfire.
A : (... Did she seriously sleep for less than an hour?... That's not very healthy, is it? I wouldn't mind if she had rested a little bit longer, since she did spare my life. Then again, as a warrior, she's probably afraid of being attacked in her moments of weakness, like when she is sleeping. Even as a victor, it seems that she doesn't trust that I can't overpower her. A cautious type...)
Agnes walked toward his backpack, and reached for a bottle of medicated oil. He applied and rubbed the swollen wound with the medicine, and it slowly relieved his pain, bit by bit.
A : (... It's going to be hard managing without my pouch... I might need to work a little at Rulid before I go back, for some gold to hire a coach.)
Packing his groundsheet back into his bag, Agnes checked his inventory once more.
A : (... She wasn't lying about it - Everything except the gold and the groundhseet's been left untouched. Such blatant honesty... It's as if she came from a noble's family, or something along those lines. Matalpal-something Roberia, huh...)
Agnes prepped up his equipment, and continued his journey towards Rulid.
No comments:
Post a Comment