Chapter 10: My Storm.
Step number one in avoiding Earnest so he wouldn't beat the crap out of me, don't leave my room and pretend I'm not here. Usually I'd rise early and get on with the day but with the lack of jobs I needed to do there was no reason for me to go outside. It was still early morning and I was taking my time to enjoy a book I had been recommended by Ronalt. The man had a surprising interest in fictional stories and during dinner had offered up a few in his collection, of course this only happened after a few drinks had been slipped inside him. It just went to show that you couldn't always judge a book by its cover, or in this case his grumpy stern hardly smiling face.
I flipped the pages leisurely as I sat at the table of my room. It had been a while since I enjoyed quiet time like this. Unfortunately for me the door resounded with a knock. I froze mid page turn afraid to make a noise.
"Rain are you in?" it was Earnest as I feared. "Come out and train with me. It's unlike you to stay couped up."
I refused to reply and sat in silence.
"Hello?" he knocked again. A few seconds passed. "Hmm…."
Another voice entered the fray, "Earnest what are you doing?" it was Lara.
"Looking for Rain. Have you seen him?"
"I didn't see him leave this morning but he could have." There was a pause. "You don't think he collapsed from his injuries do you?"
"I doubt it but it is a possibility. He was covered in acid."
"Wait here. I'll go get the extra key just in case."
Oh damn. Why couldn't Lara just not care about me and leave me alone. A part of me felt happy for her concern but the far majority of me felt that she was being needlessly meddlesome. It was just like her though. The problem was Earnest still at the door. In less than a minute I'd be exposed and there was nowhere to hide here. I needed to act quickly and made my decision.
As quiet as possible I moved to the window and gently opened it. My room was on the third floor. A drop from this height was enough to break my legs and worse case, kill me. The wall however had exposed ledges and didn't look too hard to climb. Even better, as luck would have it, Taylor's window was open.
"Rain?" Lara's voice called out. "If you're there there we're coming in."
I took a deep breath and pulled myself out the window balancing precariously on the edge. Behind me the key slid into the door with an audible click. My body stretched and just in time gripped Taylor's window pulling me out of sight and into her room. I landed with a dull thud and turned quickly to close the window blocking out any sound.
"Ha…," I breathed out in relief and looked back into the room. "Sorry about that I was just- what are you doing?"
Sitting at the table in her room like I had been was Taylor. She held a book in her hands, "I'm reading."
"Let me rephrase that. What are you wearing?" I stared at her with steady eyes.
"My sleepwear. Is something wrong with this?" she gestured to her body.
"Aren't you cold at night?" She was wearing barely any material and most of her skin was clearly exposed. Thankfully as she was sitting I could only see her top half and even that I was having a hard time looking composed.
"I keep myself warm," she winked suggestively. "Honestly I'm disappointed at your reaction. I thought you'd at least blush."
"Ha," I scoffed. "I'm used to it now." That was a lie but I refused to give Taylor the satisfaction of messing with my mind. Internally I could feel my male dominated emotions screaming.
"That's a shame," she closed her book. "Are you avoiding Earnest?"
"Correct," I nodded simply. "If you don't mind could I stay here for a bit? I'll leave in a few minutes when the coast is clear."
"Sure do whatever you want. I'll just get changed," she slid across to stand, her body slowly rising behind the curtain of the table. My eyes widened as more exposed skin revealed itself. Nope! Any more and I wouldn't be able to think straight.
"On second thought I'll head out now," I turned away a little too quickly. "Sorry for disturbing you, go back to your reading."
"No it's entirely fine for you to stay Rain." A smug teasing edge snuck into her voice, "In fact I could use help to get changed."
"Haha you and your jokes," I pried the window open and stepped out without looking back.
"Are you sure?" The sound of something soft hit the floor, "Oh no my bra."
"Bye!" I gripped the ledge and descended quickly, almost slipping due to my nervous heart. As I moved away from sight and down the building I could hear an annoying giggle flow from the window. Damn Taylor.
The wall was made of finely packed brick which turned out to be harder to get a hold of as I thought. If it wasn't for the uniformly placed windows to hang onto I would have fallen. Though honestly, between broken legs and Earnest's training I wasn't sure which one I'd rather. One floor down I unavoidably peaked though the window. It was Ardent's room. He was standing with a book in one hand and a pen in the other. It was hard for him not to notice me.
His eyes turned up to meet mine and widened. His surprise didn't last long however as he casually opened the window.
"Good morning Rain, hanging about are we?" Ardent greeted me.
"Ah yes…," I wasn't sure what to say in this situation.
"That reminds me I wanted your assistance today. Are you free?" Despite my position he was speaking to me as if nothing was wrong.
I replied in kind, "I don't have anything planned. Is there something you need?"
"No, I wanted to visit somewhere close by. It shouldn't take more than a day."
"The carriage won't be ready till tomorrow. If you want to leave the town we'd need to hire one or ride something else. I assume it's a fair distance but where exactly did you want to go?"
He smiled, "I heard about a strange oasis south from here. They say that the mana in the area is quite potent and the water has healing properties."
"That's not that rare is it?" I asked.
"Well it could be said to be uncommon. The interesting thing is how the denizens of the night react to the area. Unlike safer camping grounds a traveller has informed me they are attracted to it instead. I'd like to-,"
"Hold it!" I interrupted. "You said 'denizens of the night'. We're going at night? Isn't that dangerous."
He scoffed, "Rain please I am a Master Wizard. A few denizens won't be a problem."
"Is Ronalt okay with this?"
"He should be."
"Well… sure. I'll accompany you," I smiled wryly. Today was the seventh day after we killed the Monster which meant as long as I survived past midnight I wouldn't have to relive that day. With Ardent it shouldn't be a problem.
"Good then we'll depart post lunch," Ardent nodded satisfied.
"Umm… one thing, could you let me inside?" I said unsteadily. "My arms are getting tired."
"Ah right, go ahead," he moved aside for me to enter.
I stepped through the window in relief. As soon as I did however the door knocked and opened with almost no warning.
"Ardent have you seen Ra-," it was Earnest. His eyes met mine. "Oh there you are. Seeing you're awake how about we train?" His tone clearly suggested that it wasn't a question but more of a command. Goddess be damned for my luck.
Still I looked to Ardent for help, "Umm Ardent just asked me to do something so…."
Ardent however smiled, "It's no problem Rain, go ahead. As long as you're packed and ready by noon we'll be fine." I wanted to slam my palm into my forehead.
"Good, come then Rain. Today we'll progress your foot work," Earnest held the door open for me.
"Yay…," I sighed in mock excitement.
*
To summarise, basically I had my arse handed to me. Worse still Earnest caught wind of Ardent's request and decided he'd join on us the adventure. On the plus side it was more protection and safety for me but on the other hand I felt it was because Ardent said we'd have plenty of free time when we got there. Without a doubt I can say that Earnest's definition of free time and mine were different. Preparing for the worst I spent the morning in the Apothecary mixing potions to help the healing process. Marley and the others opted to stay in Greytree. I was strangely surprised when Taylor said she'd stay as well. For some reason my mind had thought she'd follow along.
After lunch we hired a small cart enough to fit three people and our luggage. Pina was more than capable of pulling it and soon enough we were on the road heading south of Greytree. From what I heard the oasis was situated in the centre of the plains about 4 hours ride from Greytree. West from the Capital the landscape was mostly forests with patches of meadows in between but the further south you went it transformed to long plains stretching past what the eyes could see. My home Axel was situated on the edges of one of the plains and not too far from the border forest. Although it was quite out of the way traders never failed to pass by.
We travelled down the road peacefully, though the ride was definitely not as comfortable as our regular carriage. The cart was simple and made from wood with little suspension to fix the bumpy road. I was beginning to miss the well cushioned seat of the carriage. The best I could do was some bundled up cloth. Despite my complaints Earnest and Ardent didn't care, the former sleeping and the latter humming pleasantly in excitement while reading. I smiled wryly and rubbed Pina's soft pink feathers to comfort myself. She chirped happily.
The journey was quiet. The most exciting thing being our passing of other travellers heading towards Greytree. The oasis was a relatively short ride away from the road heading south east, however being where it was, riding the cart wasn't the most joyous of experiences and even Earnest couldn't keep his eyes shut. When we finally arrived the sun had crossed quite far over the sky and would set relatively soon.
"Wow," I widened my eyes to take in the oasis. It was tranquil. To call it a pond was an injustice but it wasn't quite the size of a lake. In all it spread across about a dozen metres irregularly with soft sand beaches at the edges. The water was unnaturally clear but a blue reflection could easily be seen spreading through it. A small amount of purple lilies floated in the centre and fish swam peacefully beneath them. There was a soft hum in the air as the wind blew across the plains giving it a relaxing atmosphere. Beyond all that however there was a buzz of energy that seemed to spread across me the closer we approached.
"Well isn't this something," Ardent immediately hopped out of the cart and took a deep breath. "By the Goddess the mana concentration here is beyond simply tangible. It's like I'm drinking it in. I must take notes. Rain my bag please."
"Right," I picked up his bag and followed him as Earnest rose more slowly.
He rummaged through his bag and took out various instruments I hadn't seen before, "Our main interest is the denizens but first I need to record the oasis' properties."
"Did you need a hand?" I asked.
He rubbed his chin, "While I would love your opinion unfortunately my equipment requires control of mana something I'm afraid you just can't do."
"Then why did you ask me to help?" I folded my arms.
"Well I couldn't walk could I? Besides your cooking skills will come as a good break later," Ardent nodded. I looked at him with hollow eyes. He laughed, "Please Rain it's not just that. I thought you might enjoy the experience and wouldn't you like to harvest some ingredients yourself? The plants and water here must have some interesting properties."
I smiled, "I'll have a look around."
"There is still time till nightfall so do whatever you'd like. However I'm sure you know when darkness comes please don't wonder too far from me."
"Understood," I nodded and walked closer to the water's edge. I took out my own bag and stored away some of the water. Just looking at it I could tell that some fine potions could be made. It would be best to keep this place on the down low else a profiteering apothecary would strip it bare.