XII - Ferrum's Beginning

Ferrum slept in the corner of his cell, trying to fall asleep. Only thing was, it was cold. Too cold.

With winter draweth nigh, the temperature was going to drop quickly and though Ferrum had lived on a snowy mountain for most of his life, he still needed heavy clothing to keep himself warm.

"F-fuck me…" Ferrum shivered, slapping his hands together as he formed an orb of fire.

"If only I had that coat back at home. It would help so much right now."

Ferrum's expression quickly became full of guilt. He could still remember the first time he Mythicized.

"It won't happen again." He promised himself.

Suddenly, the door opened and Mairi rushed down the stairs, with keys in her hand.

"It's time." She said.

Ferrum noticed she was wearing different clothing than usual. Instead of her usual adventurer outfit which she always wore, she was now wearing a flax linen dress with detachable sleeves. The skirt went past her knees and she tied her hair in a ponytail.

"You look beautiful." Ferrum said suddenly. The two were quiet for a while and when Mairi unlocked the jail cell, she finally registered the words Ferrum said.

"Th-thanks. This is actually my second time wearing this."

"Second?"

"My father made me wear it once when we visited the capital to visit my brother's promotion. Honestly, it's embarrassing to wear this."

"Well, it suits you."

Mairi blushed lightly and walked up the stairs. Ferrum followed suit.

When the two left the building, there was a horse carrying bags on the side waiting for them. The horse seemed to have a strange mist surrounding it, catching not just Ferrum's attention, but Sirafuem's as well.

'This is but one of Eriact's steed.' Sirafuem said. 'He even gave one of his most prized horses.'

'Does Eriact have any bad steeds?' Ferrum asked curiously.

'No. All of Eriact's steed are bred by him and he only chooses those suited for battle. Those that are unfit are either sold away or handed off. Before Eriact became what he is now, he was once a farmer. To think he'd give one of his most prized horses.'

'I think that would be Mairi's brother's decision.'

Sirafuem grunted in agreement.

Mairi mounted the horse and offered a hand to Ferrum. When Ferrum got on the saddle with Mairi, she told him to hang on.

"Uh, how?" He asked.

"Just hold onto me, I guess."

Wasting no time, Ferrum wrapped his arms around Mairi's waist.

Mairi tugged on the reins and the horse neighed before riding into the deep and dark forest.

"How far is the capital?" Ferrum asked.

"It takes about two weeks to get there if you travel by foot. With a carriage, it takes a week. With this horse, it will take us about a few days. Two at least."

"So we'll be making occasional stops?"

"That's right!"

As the two continued to ride, Ferrum noticed that Mairi had a rather slim waist. He could not help but notice how peaceful Mairi's presence was now that she wasn't busy with work and hunting.

After a few hours, the two stopped along the road. They dismounted the steed as it rested and took the bags, setting up a campfire and tent.

While Ferrum was busy making the campfire work, he noticed Mairi inside her tent writing something in a notebook.

Ferrum sighed and shook his head.

"Are you still working even when you said you're done?"

Mairi was slightly startled but she quickly composed herself. She peeked her head out of her tent and smiled.

"I-it's nothing really. I'm just writing down… a-a story!"

Ferrum raised an eyebrow as Mairi went back into her tent. Ferrum heard a noticeable irritable groan from Sirafuem.

"What are you groaning for?" He whispered.

'Did they never teach you anything up in those mountains?' Sirafuem asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ferrum responded and Sirafuem just kept silent.

After a while, the two took a nap in their respective tents. When the sun began to rise, they packed their stuff and were back on the horse.

Along the path they took, there was a feud up ahead between what looked like merchants.

"Some trouble up ahead?"

"I believe so. Stay here, I will go and see."

Mairi dismounted the steed and approached the merchants. As she got closer, she noticed there was a slight glint from afar. She also noticed that the merchants possessed crates in their wagons, however most of them were filled with nothing but dirt, leaves, and branches.

'A trap.' Rashakane's voice spoke, Mairi nodded in agreement.

'We'll see what they want first.'

Mairi cleared her throat and started speaking.

"Is there a problem here gentlemen?"

The two "merchants" glanced at Mairi before smiling at each other.

'They couldn't make it more obvious.' Mairi thought in her head as she turned around, delivering a kick to the head of a bandit sneaking up behind her.

The bandit fell to the floor and Mairi immediately created distance between the bandits that would appear from bushes, boulders and the wagon.

"Heh, so you already knew huh?" One of the bandits asked and Mairi shook her head.

"I'm going to give you two choices. One, let me and my friend back there pass, and you'll be let go unharmed. Two, I beat the shit out of all of you."

Instantly, the bandits laughed at her and this just made Mairi smile.

'Why don't you just kill them now?' Rashakane asked and Mairi responded: 'There are fates worse than death, Rashakane.'

Interested, Rashakane replied: 'Go on and demonstrate please.'

Mairi took a step forward before ramming her fist through several bandits. The shockwave pierced through multiple and in just a matter of seconds, only a few bandits were standing.

"What the hell!?" 

"This woman is crazy!?"

"Shut up and get her already!"

Mairi turned and as the bandits got close, she immediately barraged them with fast, piercing punches, shattering their teeth, fracturing their bones, and breaking their noses.

The bandits all fell down on the ground, groaning in pain and cried for their mothers.

'An impressive performance, Mairi.'

Meanwhile, Ferrum had approached with the steed and asked if she was done.

"Not yet. There is still one more thing to do."

After a while, the two were on the road again and Ferrum could not help but stare at the massive ice spike that Mairi had created. Inside were the bandits, trapped and frozen.

"You are a brutal woman." Ferrum said.

"I have my ways." Mairi said as they began to speed up.

After a few hours of riding and resting, they eventually stopped at a spot in the woods where a lake was just a quarter mile away.

When they finished setting up camp, Mairi had along with her a set of new clothes and a towel. She was noticeably tired, bags located under her eyes.

"I'm going to go bathe in the lake. Watch for any predators that want to intrude." Mairi said before she vanished.

Ferrum looked around when Sirafuem spoke in his head.

'You have no need to fear any predators. My aura has the ability to cast fear and despair on all creatures.'

"What's the range?"

'About half a mile away. It's not far but it's effective.'

"Can I shrink it?"

'Sure, not that its effect will get any stronger. You not need to worry about the horse for Eriact has trained his horses to not resist my aura, smart bastard he is.'

After Sirafuem gave Ferrum the steps to cast the aura, he got up and stretched a bit when he noticed Mairi's notebook.

"Huh, what does it say on the front?"

On the front it read: Mairi's Diary

Ferrum took the book and inspected it before preparing to look at the book's contents.

'Are you sure that's a good idea?' Sirafuem asked.

"What is?"

'Did the mountain people never teach you anything about privacy?'

Ferrum stayed silent and Sirafuem groaned.

'They didn't, did they?'

"Well look, I'm just gonna take a peek. It's not gonna be anything special."

Ferrum was nearly about to open the dairy but stopped himself and placed the diary back in the same exact spot he took it from.

'A wise choice. Ferrum.'

"I was curious but I guess I should respect her privacy."

'So they did teach you about privacy.'

"Oh shut up. I was just curious, okay?"

'Perhaps. By the way, she's been gone for a while. I reckon you should check on her.'

"How long has it been?"

'About an hour.'

Ferrum placed the diary down and stood up.

"I should probably check, where did she head over to again?"

'North.'

Ferrum looked up at the sky before determining the direction, then he walked that direction.

After a while, he eventually heard what sounded like water. Eventually, he spotted the lake and hid behind some bushes.

'What are you doing?'

"Uhh, making sure Mairi is okay?"

'Well, first of all, you look like a little rat. Second, how are you going to make sure she is okay if you can't see her?'

"Uhh…"

'Go you punk.'

Ferrum felt an invisible force push him out the bushes and he rolled down towards the lake.

He managed to stop himself and immediately looked around the lake. Mairi was nowhere to be seen. The only thing Ferrum found were Mairi's clothes.

"Perhaps she's still in the lake. Hopefully she didn't dr-"

Suddenly there was a splash and Ferrum turned his head, witnessing the most beautiful sight a man could see.

The moonlight reflecting off the surface of the lake shaped her body. 

When Mairi noticed Ferrum, the latter quickly averted his gaze.

"I'm sorry." Ferrum stammered. "I didn't mean to. It's just that you were gone for a while and I came here to check up on you. Please excuse me."

Mairi walked out of the lake and reached for her towel. When she wrapped it around her body, she cleared her throat.

"It's fine. I'm sorry if I made you worry. I usually take long baths and lose track of time."

The two stood idle, embarrassed. Ferrum cleared his throat as he went back towards the camp.

"I'll uhh, leave it to you. Just be back at the camp. Okay?"

"Okay."

After a few minutes, Mairi came back to the camp and sat near the campfire. She looked at her diary and picked it up, opening it before starting to write.

"What uhh, are you writing if I may ask?" Ferrum questions her curiously.

"I'm just… writing some thoughts. N-nothing important." A flustered Mairi responded.

Ferrum crossed his arms, looking up at the stars that splattered the night sky.

Minutes later, the fire was extinguished and Mairi fell asleep in her tent. Ferrum continued to gaze at the night sky. Eventually, he would go into his tent and fall asleep.

The next morning, the two were already on the road.

As the afternoon approached, they spotted a massive tower in the distance. Soon, a massive fortress was in view along with a floating island that held a castle located above the tower.

"Is that-?"

"Verumel. The capital of Ulram."

Verumel, the capital of Ulram. Located in the heart of the country, it serves as the world's toughest and largest fortress in the world and has survived many battles. It is by most people the land of hope and dreams.

The two approached the gate and were stopped by two guards who asked for identification. Mairi handed both her and Ferrum's ID and they were eventually let through.

The two traveled down the street and eventually stopped at a vacant building.

"This is the place?" Ferrum asked and Mairi nodded.

"Yes. Here are the keys by the way." Mairi said, handing him the keys.

"Can you take a look at it for me? I'm going to secure Shade in the stables. She can finally get the rest she needs."

The horse snorted as Mairi escorted it towards the stables.

Ferrum looked at the building from top to bottom and side to side. He approached the door and unlocked it.

When he opened the door, the floors were clean and there was no sign of dust. The wooden floors were a bit broken but the walls and ceiling were still in peak condition. It looked like it was recently cleaned not too long ago.

There was plenty of space, almost enough for a tavern.

"Maybe if we had the money, it could be possible." Ferrum thought in his head before walking up the stairs.

There were five rooms on the second floor. One was bigger than the other four. Two of them were bedrooms, another two were empty, one was an office and the last one was a room with a large oval table.

Ferrum looked outside the window of the office, watching kids play on the streets.

"How do you like it?" Mairi who stood at the door asked.

"It's a good start. So this will be the office?"

"That is correct!"

"So if I had to guess, are you perhaps using this place as a tavern?"

Mairi placed a finger on her chin and walked towards the desk.

"I never thought about that but that's a great idea. I actually thought of something else."

She sat down and placed her feet on top of the desk.

"My brother helped me with this before I made it official. We are simply given jobs by those of the Empire. Military, nobility and maybe, even royalty."

"So we are like contractors?"

"More than that, we are Mercenaries. Our contracts will come directly from my brother's associates and their associates as well. However, we haven't started yet. My brother said we need to settle in before we can actually start. So about that tavern idea of yours. I think it can work out but do you know how to run one?"

Ferrum scratched his head. Mairi shook her head and sighed.

"Does your brother know anyone that can maybe help?"

Mairi pondered about it, even leaving the room for a moment. When she came back, she had a grin.

"I believe he does. I will send a letter to him soon but for now, we should worry about raising some funds."

"And how are we going to do that?"

Mairi approached the window and pointed to a giant building not far from them.

"Hunts and bounties. What else? Besides, what can't we handle?"

Ferrum smiled and let out a little chuckle. Mairi was right. They should have no problem raising funds with their skills and powers.

"Then let's get started shall we?"