"Are you awake?"
It was the first words Noah heard as he opened his eyes. His entire body hurt, with his right arm feeling like it was on fire and a sharp pain radiating from his abdomen. His vision may have been blurry, but Noah swore that he could see Isdiel staring down at him with her bright blue eyes. He felt a soft, cool hand brush the hair off his forehead. It wiped the sweat off his brow as his eyes started closing, his whole body too weary to keep going.
The next time his blurry vision returned, Noah found himself looking up at a ceiling of littered with stone spires and more of the dim blue crystals he spotted in the tunnel earlier. The horrible pain had left him, now leaving Noah feeling only soreness and dull aches from his stomach and arm. He felt so weak, too weak to even move his body. However, he could muster the strength to turn his head and see Isdiel crouched a few feet away. She had her hands up to her mouth, whispering something into her palms.
"Sounds like a plan," he heard Rapide's voice say. It sounded like it came from Isdiel's direction, but even with his impaired sight Noah couldn't spot anyone else out there. "Lola's kinda banged up, so we'll head back right away. Get here soon as you can, Izzy." His voice sounded odd. It was as if Rapide were talking with a glass of water up to his lips. Noah had no time to worry about where Rapide's ethereal tones were coming from. The little strength he had faded away, and his vision went dark again.
Noah awoke to a familiar warmth and softness. There was only the light soreness in his stomach left, and he was glad to be able to pick himself up a bit this time around. Only sitting up was a little harder than he had originally thought. A slender arm was wrapped around his bare chest, and the fae turned to see Isdiel snuggled up close beside him. She was no longer in the pretty white dress that she had worn before. Instead, she was in a pair of blue shorts that went down to her knees and Noah's black shirt he had been wearing earlier. Her hair was losing the last traces of some dampness, and for some reason she had managed to cradle his arm snuggly in her chest.
"Good to see you're awake," Isdiel said. Noah, in a move made from embarrassment and possible self-preservation, tossed her arm off his chest and started scooting away from Isdiel. He realized he could've been a bit more delicate, but Noah decided his panic decision to be the best one. Maybe the stupid one as he just pushed away the warmth and comfort of a woman. A beautiful woman. A beautiful blonde hair, blue eyed, pointy eared, wearing his shirt woman who had just been pressed right up against him.
Raelynn, Noah thought to himself. You have Raelynn. Well, he didn't necessarily have any claim to Raelynn. Something told him maintaining loyalty to the cute barmaid was the right decision to make. He may have been a womanizer and a cheat in his past, but Noah really hoped that that wasn't the case.
"You wound my pride, Noah," Isdiel said as she sat up. Noah continued to scoot away along the freezing stone ground, while Isdiel never stopped advancing forward as she crawled on all fours, a hungry look in her eyes. Noah had faced monsters and taken them down, so why was it that Isdiel was having such an easy time making him flee?
"Am I not your type?" she said. Their chase was turning. Noah was still a bit weak and groggy, whereas Isdiel was wide awake. The fae's hand slipped on the ground and he ended up on his back again. "Maybe you prefer guys. Rapide did say you two had a nice talk in the baths." Isdiel was climbing atop of him now. The position was identical to the one Noah had with Raelynn the night before as Isdiel straddled his hips. For some reason, this time felt significantly more dangerous. Rae was a good enough looking girl, but Isdiel exuded beauty. Maybe it was in the confidence that she had in herself. Maybe it was the flawless skin and perfect body shape. Curves in all the right places. Legs that just never quit. Noah imagined that everything underneath the clothes was just as wonderful. Unfortunately, his body reacted to his overactive imagination.
I must've been a lecher, Noah thought. I must've been a horrible lecher, and this is my punishment.
"Well, your tastes aren't the problem," Isdiel said with a smile on her face. Her hips pressed down on his. And Noah purred. He purred so loudly that it echoed throughout the chamber that they were in. His face turned beet red, and Isdiel started laughing hysterically. Noah thought that she had lost it as she clutched her sides she was laughing so hard. Isdiel rolled off to the side, her laughter slowly subsiding into a giggle fit, until finally it became just a soft chuckle or two.
"What?" Noah asked as he sat up. Did he do something wrong? Was his purring that fun to others? He didn't mind it so much, because whatever caused that reflex was always something really nice.
"I've heard faes purr before," Isdiel answered. "But I guess the happier they are, the louder they purr."
"Well duh," Noah stated. What the hell did he even know? That observation was as much a surprise to him as it was to Isdiel.
"It also tells me that you're feeling all better."
"Oh. Well yeah. I guess I'm doing better." Noah started to finally take the time to really see his surroundings. The cave chamber they were in was similar to the tunnels the party had been walking through earlier. The walls and floor were all stone and littered throughout the walls and ceiling above were the tiny crystals that radiated blue light. The chamber was much larger, especially in height, than the one Noah last remembered being in with spiny stalactites line the top of the cave. About ten feet from where Noah and Isdiel were sitting was the shoreline for an underground lake that took up more than half the chamber. Noah couldn't tell how deep it was, but the glowing crystals must've been on the lakebed as well. How else could the water emanate an eerie green glow.
"Where the hell are we?" Noah asked.
Isdiel responded by pointing upwards. "We fell from above," she answered. "All because you lost control of yourself."
Noah cocked his head to the side. He didn't remember losing control of anything. The last thing he remembered was Isdiel being strangled by the kobold and being crushed beneath the monster's foot. After his rib snapped, he thought he had just passed out from the pain.
"I thought so," Isdiel said matter-of-factly. "Do you think your memory problems just pertain to your amnesia, or do you think you've always had problems recalling simple events?"
"Are you gonna keep teasing me, or are you actually gonna tell me what happened?" Noah asked. Beauty could only give the woman so much of a pass before it started to annoy him.
"Be patient. I'll answer all your questions in a bit. I have a few of my own first."
Noah sighed. It wasn't what he asked for at all. Not even close as far as he was concerned. If Isdiel wanted to play that game with though, he would play along. At least as long as he absolutely had to.
"Fire away."
"First question, do you really not remember anything before waking up and talking to the divines?" Isdiel's eyes rapidly shifted. They had gone from hungry earlier, then to a blank state, and now they beamed with curiosity.
"If you mean the voices in the shack that gave me stuff when you say divines, then yeah." Isdiel let out a snort like laugh at his answer. "What?"
"Nothing. Just never heard the divines described so aptly before. Ask me something while I think of my next question."
"I thought I was supposed to wait patiently before you answered."
"Changing the rules. Go ahead ask me something." Isdiel watched him, chewing on her lip softly as she waited and thought of her own question.
"Are you guys the adventurers who came into town without memories a while back?" Noah wasn't entirely sure what inspired him to ask that question. Perhaps it was something that any of the members of the party had said throughout their time together. He was sure of the answer before he even got it, though. He just wanted some confirmation to his theory.
"Yes," Isdiel answered quickly. "Everybody but myself showed up in Remnant without any clear recollection of how they got there."
"But I was told that they got their memories back!" Noah was getting excited. If they had really regained their memory, then they could definitely help Noah out. "How'd they do it?"
"Nuh-uh," Isdiel stopped him. "It's my turn again, so you'll have to wait." She continued chewing her lip, and for some reason Noah found himself slowly getting entranced by the subtle movements of her mouth. Was she doing that to him on purpose? She opened her mouth and her eyes widened as she finally got her question. "Have you read any part of the Adventurer's Guide yet? You fight well, but even someone like Lola knows more about proper adventuring than you."
Noah wasn't sure who Isdiel was trying to insult more as he shook his head. "I've been kind of busy with everything."
"Fair enough, I suppose." In the dim blue light, Noah spotted a big grin on Isdiel's face. "Does that barmaid keep you occupied?"
At that question, Noah's ears perked up and turned scarlet. He hadn't mentioned Raelynn to anyone else, especially to Isdiel. That question was way too specific though. Especially after he had just been thinking of the girl who was still waiting back in the inn for him.
"I didn't mean that," Isdiel said. Her tone was less sassy and teasing than it had been. She really was sorry. "Most people are a bit more careful when it comes to high elves touching them."
"High elf?" Noah asked, totally lost as to what she was talking about.
"Oh yeah, you wouldn't really know about our race skills, would you? Well all of them have to do with thoughts. The earliest one we get lets us see the surface level thoughts. Sometimes I'm a bit of ditz and accidentally turn it on."
All her talk of abilities and thoughts and mind reading just went right over Noah's head. He was still hung up on the first thing that she said. He even repeated it aloud after she finished explaining. "High elf?"
"Yes," Isdiel said, sounding irritated that Noah clearly didn't listen to what she had to say. "I'm a high elf. See?" She pulled her hair back so her ears were exposed in full. They were indeed pointed, but Noah noticed both the top and bottom ends of her ears were pointed. Noah idly ran his finger along the lengthier top point of his ear as he studied the defining high elf feature.
"Ohhhh," Isdiel said, really dragging it out as she realized just what Noah had been thinking about. "Jesus you really don't know anything. Did you think I was a fae this whole time?"
"Sorry," Noah muttered under his breath. He pulled his legs up so his knees were pointed up and he wrapped his arm around his chin. He felt sufficiently embarrassed. How was he supposed to know what the hell a high elf was? And what was so special about high elves anyway? Noah knew nothing about being a fae beyond his visual appearance and the fact that he purred, but he didn't think it was so bad that Isdiel needed to sound so offended about being mistaken for one.
"Hey, hey," Isdiel said as she crawled over to him. She took a seat beside him and started to scratch the top of his head. He may have been frustrated and irritated with himself, but Noah couldn't fight the instinct to purr quietly as Isdiel had found a sweet spot on his scalp. "I didn't mean it like that. There's nothing wrong with fae at all."
It was around then that Noah realized what his thoughts on Isdiel were beyond just being a pretty face, a nice body, and (the memory of her powerful magic attack still fresh on his mind) an unexpected powerhouse. That she was a curious girl who wanted to know as much as she can about anyone, and despite her tendency to tease she really meant no harm. After he had warmed up to her, Noah was able to easily talk to her. She reminded him of Raelynn in that aspect.
"It's not your fault," Noah replied finally, still a little flustered but looking at her as he spoke. "I'm not sure of anything at all. I don't know who I am. I don't know who I was. It's just, just-"
"Scary?" Isdiel finished for him.
"Yeah. I guess it is scary." Noah figured that was as good a word as he could think of for it. The only journey he had been on so far locked him into a horrible battle where those around him had gotten hurt. The sight of Teague flying off the side of the slope and Isdiel being in the grips of the monster flashed before him. Was every outing going to end up like that? With his friends getting hurt and his group being separated.
"I gave them their memories back," Isdiel suddenly said. "At least, I gave them some of their memories back." Noah looked over at her, confused as to what exactly she was talking about. "It's another of my race skills. I can share memories of mine."
"So you can't help me out at all, can you?" Noah asked. He knew she was trying to cheer him up some, but Noah felt entitled to a little bit of selfishness.
"Sorry. It would have to be memories we've shared before, and this morning was the first time I've ever met you."
"It's fine." Noah had a thought then, one of the more positive thoughts he had gotten since the two of them started their question game.
"Can I guess what you're thinking?" Isdiel asked. After Noah nodded, Isdiel smiled wide before she continued. "You're thinking that if you wander around enough-."
"I'll find some high elf that does recognize me," Noah finished.
"That's probably the smartest thing you've said to me so far." Isdiel scratched a spot right behind Noah's ear, causing him to purr a bit louder than he had when she scratched his scalp. His purr drew a giggle from her, which drew a small chuckle from Noah.
"Let me finish my little story though, Noah," Isdiel said, her hand trailing down to caress Noah's bare back. "I gave them some of their memories back. I can't give them all of them back yet. It'd overload their brains to do that all at once."
Noah gulped in fear. He hoped the high elf in the future that restored his memories didn't do that to him. He pictured a vegetative Teague, lying in a bed groaning and drooling.
"There's one memory of Roy and Rapide," Isdiel continued. "It's really funny. The first time the three of us went on a journey together, we met a strange little monster that stole clothes. I was the only one who had brought extra clothes with me to the dungeon, but they were all women's clothing. When Rapide and Roy came back to town, they were wearing powder blue skirts and white blouses."
It took a while for the image to fully form in Noah's mind, but he pictured the two of them walking back through the gate. Rapide would be laughing like an idiot whilst Roy would repeatedly be pulling down his skirt to cover himself, doing whatever his race's equivalent to blushing was.
"Adventuring isn't all just diving into a dirty tunnel and fighting horrible monsters," Isdiel said. "There's a lot of battles along the way, that's for sure. But as long as you've got comrades by your side, you'll find a way to pull through."
"What if they get hurt?" Noah asked, the gasps of a breathless Isdiel still on his mind. "I feel like I'm not doing anything. Like I'm holding you guys back.
"Then you help them." It was so simple, yet so perfect. "The rest of them are rookies now just like you, Noah. We've done, like, two small dungeons before. That's nothing." She started to stroke Noah's arm that had been hurting him so much earlier. "And you're not holding us back at all. You're as good a fighter as Teague is. He's only got a little bit more experience than you."
"So you're saying I should keep adventuring because it's something I'm good at?" Noah asked. She was slowly working him into viewing the adventurer gig as a positive, but there was still that layer of self doubt on his mind.
"No you dumbass!" Noah chuckled a little. He had finally found something that Isdiel was bad at. Cursing. "I'm saying that you had a look in your eye when you found that goblin tunnel. It's the same look when you first saw the gnarl blast out. Christ, it was the same face you made when you used that basic ice spell."
"What look was that?"
"The look of wonder. Of curiosity. Of excitement. You looked like you were having an absolute blast." Isdiel smiled at him in a way that Noah thought only a charisma fountain such as Rapide was capable of. "You have such a unique take on the world. One that I genuinely miss these days. You get to see everything for the first time."
Noah smiled as he thought of it. Battle was scary, but that wasn't all he had done in the world so far. Beyond just exploring the fields and the dungeons, simply walking around the town of remnant was a pleasant journey for him. Meeting all these people from all these walks of life. If he weren't an adventurer, he was pretty sure a girl like Raelynn wouldn't have even given him the time of day.
"And if you ask me I think you're too hung up on it," Isdiel said. Her fingers were slowly running up and down Noah's spine. He didn't purr that time, but a powerful shiver ran through his body. "The whole remembering who you were thing. I don't expect you to stop thinking about it all together. But I think you'd just be happier thinking about who you are."
"'We will not forget the past, nor shall we let it rule our present,'" Noah replied. He didn't know where that quote came from. He just knew it.
"Exactly," Isdiel agreed, either unaware or not acknowledging that Noah was quoting something. She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her hair had dried while they had talked it seemed, and Noah noticed the faint smell of honey coming from it. Before he pushed her away, but Noah figured he would give in and let her have her comfort. Just as long as Raelynn never figured out that he found it lovely to be this close to Izzy.
"I'll stay with the party for now," Noah said. Isdiel looked up at him and smiled, and Noah returned it in kind. "You guys are nice to be around. And adventuring seems like the best bet to get what I want."
"Finding out who you were?" Isdiel asked, her smile starting to fade.
"Finding out who I am." Isdiel's smile returned in full. Noah didn't give up that easily on his desire to find his past, and he didn't imagine Isdiel thought he had either. He would take the advice to heart, though. If anything, having a goal as vague as "finding oneself" would keep him busy for quite some time.
"Well," Isdiel said as she stood up. "I think we've had quite a good bonding experience. However-," Isdiel reached down and held her hand out to Noah. The boy took it with a grin on his face, lifting himself up. His legs were very weak, as he had been laying down injured for some unknown amount of time and hadn't gotten up to stretch at all. Isdiel draped his arm around her shoulder to help him stand up. "-I'm quite exhausted and I think it's time for us to go home."
Isdiel held out her free hand, and Noah finally took notice of the bracer that she was wearing. It wasn't the same as the Starting Bracer that Noah and the rest had worn into the tunnels. Instead of the cheap looking copper that his seemed to be made from, Isdiel's was made of silvery-white metal that looked far more valuable. Noah looked from her hand to where it was pointed. The space in front of her hand began to shimmer, and Noah immediately realized what she was doing.
"You can make a Gate?" Noah asked.
"If I had a mirror, I'd love to show you that look on her face," Isdiel replied, making Noah lower his head in embarrassment. "But it's not a full on gate. Think of it like a gate that can only bring you back to town."
"Ah. Gotcha."
As the space continued shimmering and the wisp of smoke began floating around in it, Noah began to walk towards it. He stumbled a bit though, and Isdiel managed to catch him just in time. She lifted him back onto his feet. Before Noah could even manage to utter "thank you," Isdiel had already locked him in a kiss. It was nothing like the one he had shared with Raelynn the night before. The simple, gentle kiss goodnight was a fond memory slowly being burned away by the fire against his lips. He hadn't returned Raelynn's kiss properly, but for Isdiel he was afraid if he didn't kiss back she'd punch him in the jaw. Noah wasn't sure how much time had passed as their lips pressed together, but it couldn't have ended a moment sooner. Before he could even ask any of the thousand questions that was on his mind, Isdiel was already starting to push him forward to the Gate.
"I really wanna know if this is as fun as it looks," she said as she let Noah trip his way into the Gate.
--
Around the World in Tera de Fantastique...
A Hustler has just won a fabulous ruby red sword in a card game. He had to sneak his way out of the bar with his loot, hoping they didn't inspect the sleeves of his cloak and see the hidden cards. He is taking the long way back to Remnant town with his ill-gotten gains, hoping to trick some foolish soul into spending far more than the blade was worth.
And let us not ignore the man in a study, his desk covered in paperwork and coin purses. Behind him is a huge green banner with the symbol of his Guild, an eagle with an arrow in his mouth and a bow in its talons, emblazoned in gold. On the other side of his desk are two huge figures, covered from head to toe in black cloth. They are delivering a report of the goings on in the outside world.
Last but not least is the goings on in a room at The Risen Moon. A young lady is practicing her ornate sword forms in her bedroom, out of the bed for the first time in almost a week. Her body is weary, but her skills have barely dulled.
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From the Adventurer's Guide
Section on Understanding Maps
Towns, Fields, and Dungeons! Oh my!
Dear Adventurer. I am Monsieur Poe. I am simply a lowly villager and owner of a fabulous tavern known as The Risen Moon in Remnant. The divines have allowed me the honor of sharing some of my extensive knowledge of the world, specifically how the world is divided into Towns, Fields, and Dungeons.
Towns are the major hubs of commerce and hullabaloo. Here adventurers and villagers alike gather to trade, rest, and engage with one another.
Fields are locations that act as connectors between towns and dungeons. Villagers and monsters reside here, so don't let your guard down when you wander in these places. Fields are very expansive and can hold many dungeons within them.
Dungeons are where your skills as an adventurer really start to shine. These are the homes of monsters of all types, so be sure you're ready and well equipped before delving into them. Dungeons are considered cleared when the enemy leader is defeated. After their defeat, the enemy leader automatically drops a treasure orb.
Please note that the more... unsavory characters that adventure alongside you can attack you at any moment when you're in a field or dungeon. I personally don't think you should always be paranoid of attacks around every corner, but don't be too surprised is all I'm saying.
Good luck and have fun out there!
End of Volume 1-Noah