Coming Together

Chapter 37: Coming Together

/You know, mana gets too much rep for its usefulness. Stamina is at least as important and powerful. Actually, scratch that, any direction of growth should be valued just as much as mana. And in some regions they do, but not if you ask the mages guild. Pah, old idiots.

For now, I wanna focus on stamina though, ya know? Usually, we only talk about stamina as endurance, but that's not quite what I mean. Stamina, like, in the system, those Sp we got. Yeaaaaah...

Fuck, back on track. Stamina is pretty sick, you know? It's quite useful, since it simply represents your inner stamina. Unlike mana, stamina isn't something you pull from the environment and store inside your body, it's something you have to build up from yourself, for yourself.

But its uses are just as varied. Experts can channel stamina to spread their vitality around, and refresh others. A great example are farmers, who can use their own stamina to promote the growth of plants. They're essentially stamina-druids, and to be honest, many druids use half-half techniques anyways.

Other than that, stamina can, of course, be used to allow any movement you make to manifest outside the body. Yeah, if you infuse a punch with stamina, it will shoot out a phantom fist, or a shockwave. It can be just as spectacular as mana can be, and I don't hear anyone who disagrees, ya got it?

Also, just like mana, ya can use stamina to power moves and techniques, like special fancy sword thingies, that are just as strong as spells. There's also stamina related abilities, maybe you've heard of <Inner Peace> before? It's what those monks pursue, ya know, the monastery in the southwest. Super secretive, but I heard 'em talk about it once.

So yeah, don't disrespect stamina man! I bet you I can take on any mage on my level. Those fuckers 'r just too scared to actually challenge me, I swear. Betcha with fancy techniques you could even use stamina to create lightning or something, but that's a little outta my league, heh.

A toast to stamina, woooo!!/

Rant of a drunk sellsword in a bar, transcribed by a nearby member of the scholar's guild. Undated, dubbed "A Toast to Stamina!"

- - - - - -

Lucia frowned at the new development. This was rather inconvenient, now. Nira had just alleviated some of her worries about Avery's integrity, and then this. She gave a long sigh to herself, as she looked the building up and down.

"Iris, what does this look like to you?" she asked her maid in a tired voice.

"Well, m'lady, I'd have to say it looks like they were attacked..." Iris replied in a quiet voice. For a moment she hesitated, but after a nod from Lucia, she ran her fingers along the charred walls of the building. She rubbed the ash between her fingers for a moment and then seemed to sniff it. "If I had to guess, someone used a lightning mana bomb here... No, two of them. One thrown about a minute or so after the first."

"Hm, and who would do this?"

"I heard that guild master Beckham had the displeasure of chasing some shady figure in the streets earlier today, m'lady," Iris said, turning away from the damaged building. It still stood, but it would need extensive repairs. "Perhaps whoever it was, they attacked again?"

"Could be, I agree. Why do you think they would do so, Iris?" As she spoke, Lucia threw a very hostile glance to Foss, who had to drag himself over here. The man was sweating profusely, but honestly, she couldn't tell if it was because of anxiety or simply because of his physical constitution being challenged.

"It is interesting that they would have access to purified mana, m'lady. Mana bombs tend to be out of fashion nowadays, usually mana is used in potions, and with a war going on, I doubt such resources would be kept in Stormbraver. Foss, do you have any records on such trade?"

For a moment, the merchants seemed like he would get upset at the servant for speaking to him in such a manner, but after a sharp glance from the head priestess, his face turned a little more pale instead of red. It was... rather pinkish, now. Lucia smiled at the colour.

"Well, I don't, no. None of this hash come to my knowledge," Foss huffed out.

"Hm, well then, Iris, what do you suppose happened here?"

The woman in question paused at this for a moment.

"Uhm... if I had to guess, a spy from another country managed to find their way to the black market in Stormbraver. Perhaps this would have developed into an attempt to destabilize the city by attacking the nobles' estates and the council?" Iris wasn't sure enough to say so for certain, but she was sure enough to at least voice this idea. She had also considered that perhaps the council was trying to eliminate themselves to gather greater successors, for example, but that idea seemed a little too ridiculous.

"I believe you might be right," Lucia nodded. "Well then, can you figure out where this supposed attacker went?"

"Absolutely, yes. I can track the scent of an absent member of the godseekers' guild. Surprisingly they smell a lot like..."

"Yes, go on?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but like a mopaaw, m'lady."

"That is quite rude, but no matter. If you can track them, we shall follow. After all, we both know Foss hasn't nearly the spine to be involved with this, correct?" Lucia felt the fire in her stomach flash as she spoke, a lick of it escaping through her mouth. She was becoming agitated, but perhaps, this time there would be no need to hold herself back.

"I agree m'lady," Iris nodded. "If you would follow?"

And just like that, the two women were off, to follow the trail of a cat that had disappeared just a bit prior.

Foss, on the other hand, was left behind with a sour taste in his mouth. The gloryhall had been insured with his guild, and they would have to take care of reparations, which was bothersome, and there had also been a jab to his pride. But no matter.

He was a merchant, through and through. He would make sure the guild was properly repaired, and that this matter was properly handled. This was no longer about protecting two of his members, this was about the pride of the entire guild, and the only way to salvage their reputation was to take care of matters properly.

Foss might be a petty and rude man who held grudges, but he was still the master of the merchants' guild in Stormbraver. He had coin flowing through his veins, and he wouldn't lose it all through something like this. After all, he had made his way up the ladder to become guild master by making smart decisions, and not by going down with his subordinates.

Immediately, he started rounding up some of his merchants, sending them off to deal with the paperwork of hiring the workers of the Constro family, a major hub for anything to deal with construction in the city. Then, he sent off some more members of his guild, and had them go to the headquarters. He needed to make sure all the bureaucracy of rebuilding was done by the time Avery was back.

The merchant sighed as he thought of the "Lightfoot". He was a rather difficult character to deal with. Usually, when he worked with someone, he simply had to pay them reparations, when something broke, but in Avery's case, that wasn't quite good enough. The godseeker insisted, that he would not be bothered with any paperwork or construction, and had made a special deal with Foss.

Now, he had to make sure to handle all the rebuilding processes. It was a bit of a chore, but Foss had decided he would do it properly. Just to salvage as much of his reputation as possible.

- - - - - -

"Why would you ever accept a commission like that?!!"

"It pays well," a voice responded, coarse like gravel, but light as a feather.

"This is EXACTLY why everyone hates us! Fuck! Now I'm forced to decide between making sure I don't get kicked out of my city and protecting one of the members I'm sworn to protect! You absolute asshole!" Avery was absolutely livid as he kept pacing back and forth. He had almost bitten his nails again, but instead quickly retrieved his white bread and chomped down on copious amounts of it.

Of course, being the diligent man he was, he also made sure to give Mercury the snack he had purchased. The cat was in decent health, albeit a little banged up, but he wasn't as annoyed as Avery. After all, Mercury hadn't sworn to protect other godseekers. Actually, he was sure Avery also hadn't, but that apparently didn't stop his guild master from giving everything to do so.

But just then, Avery stopped his pacing. He looked up at the cloaked figure in front of him and shook his head. "Look," he slowly said, his voice hardening. "You have to leave. I can't guarantee your safety in this city. I know you made sure to not hurt anyone too badly, even with the mana bombs, but you should have known better. You know exactly how unpredictable lightning is."

Avery paused to take a bite and a deep breath. "I am mad. Very, very mad. You endangered other godseekers-"

"I made sure it was saf-"

"YOU! DID! NOT!"

Both the assailant and Mercury flinched at this. He had not yet seen Avery this mad, and he for sure was happy he was simply on the sidelines.

"I don't even know what to say anymore! The more I think, the more I want to kick your teeth in, Birk. And you know, I'm starting to think I just might do it. The absolute only reason I'm holding back is that you're also a member of my guild, but you've taken it a step too fucking far. I'm giving you this one chance, and I will absolutely not repeat myself."

"Guild mas-"

"I am NOT your guild master, capiche? Now listen, and listen closely. Interrupt me one more time, and I make sure your mouth stays closed." Avery got very close to Birk as he spoke, a young man with blonde, spiky hair, blue eyes, and a babyface.

Silence.

"Good. Now, you're going to leave. You're going to leave Stormbraver, and get your sorry ass back up north. You're going to report this commission as failed, and make sure someone sends me a letter you did so. If I don't get the notice in a month, I'm heading up there myself to kick your ass. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, master Beckham." Birk's voice was whimsical and pitiable by now.

"Good! Now, you're going to hand me all the pure mana you have and-"

"Guild Master, I-!"

Avery made sure to keep to his threats. Within the blink of an eye, he launched a high kick at Birk's face, solidly smacking his mouth, splitting his lips, and Mercury was fairly sure he saw a tooth falling out.

"I SAID YOU WON'T INTERRUPT! Fuck! Stupid kid."

Birk's eyes started going wet at this. Avery was right, he was just a kid, but had this really been necessary? This felt unfair! He started reaching for his pocket on his emotions, but Avery stepped onto his hand.

There was a moment of silence, as all the tension in the room vanished. Avery was simply stunned.

"Were you...? Wow. Okay. You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that. You were actually going to throw a mana bomb at me." The guild master couldn't hold himself back from smiling. He made sure Birk's hand was properly pinned to the ground, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out all the glass vials with mana in them.

"Master Beck-"

"Oh, no, no, don't get me wrong. If I respect one thing, it's guts. You acted on instinct, like an animal backed into a corner. Fight or flight, ya know? Take this as a lesson kid, sometimes when you do what's usually right, you do something that's wrong. This was one of those, but I don't fault you. Just... get out of here."

Avery slowly lifted his foot off Birk's hand, making sure that the situation was safe. Mercury, on the other hand, was relieved he could finally breathe easy again. He let out a large sigh. His body wasn't built for this kind of stress, man.

Birk simply nodded at this declaration of Avery, quickly starting to pocket his gear into his backpack. They were currently in the basement of an abandoned fish store, and while the smell was unpleasant, it was a very good hiding spot. Obviously, Birk had some idea of what he was doing, even if he was probably just around 17 or 18. People in this world probably had to grow up faster than where Mercury was from, huh.

Just then, the door to the basement swung open. Not the side tunnel Birk had dug out as an emergency escape, but instead the one that was accessible from the fish stall.

"What a vile smell," Lucia commented as she descended down the stairs.

"I would have to agree m'lady, but I am most certain we are approaching our target- Ah! Guild master Beckham?"

Iris was walking ahead of her lady and stopped for just a moment by reflex.

"I wish I could say that I see, but I do not, Iris."

"Oh, apologies m'lady. One moment."

Quickly, the young maid descended the stairs, followed by Lucia. Then, her eyes opened wide, as she clearly recognized the cat in front of her.

"Mister... Mercury?" Iris asked curiously.

"Yo, 'sup. Been a few days."

"You will not speak to my friend this way, filthy beast!" Lucia's rage was hitting a peak and within moments, a bow of light manifested in her hands, the arrow firmly pointed at... Avery, who had immediately rushed to protect his guildmate.

"Woah there, head priestess. I think, ah, I believe it would be possible to de-escalate this situation a little, yes? Let us stop the threats."

"Stop?! You ask me to stop, guild master Beckham, after this... this creature dared to talk to my closest aid like such?!!" Lucia pressed the air through her teeth, the fire in her spilling out and almost physically manifesting as the air around her seemed to heat up, and white flames of light began dancing around the arrow.

"Ah, m'lady, please excuse mister Mercury. I do not believe he meant any harm."

"Apologize, beast!!" Lucia yelled, ignoring Iris.

"Uh, sorry? I mean, like, I'm just talking." He shook his head a little. "Fucking psycho," he muttered under his breath, before realizing he had goofed.

"YOU DARE?!" Lucia and Iris cried out at one, launching themselves forward like wild furies at, again, Avery, who was knocked to the floor and besieged, as he could poorly defend himself. He still had a bandaged shoulder and midsection now. The arrow of Birk had hit him and left a deep gash on his side, even though he tried to dodge.

"Woah, woah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry okay! Just leave Avery alone!"

"Command me once more, beast, and I will stuff you and hang you upon my chimney!!"

Still, Lucia got up, white flames now flickering and dancing through the air around her, while Iris assumed the position next to her master again, fixing her hair and dress. Something was severely wrong with both of these women, Mercury noted.

"Why are you even here?" Avery croaked from the floor, spitting a little bit of blood. His lip had split open as he fell, and honestly, he felt like fucking shit.

"I managed to track the smell of mopaaw leading away from the gloryhall. I had assumed it belonged to the attacker, and not to mister Mercury."

"Why are YOU here?" Lucia countered to Avery, slowly supressing her rage again. Then, she swiped her eyes across the room, and finally landed on Birk, when they narrowed to slits and her glimmering bow reappeared. "Stop right there."

The kid, already bruised from Avery's outburst, simply froze, and slowly rose his hands into the air. It just... really wasn't his day today...

In the meantime, Avery had managed to force himself into a sitting position, and Iris had seemingly forgiven Mercury for his insult of her lady.

"Okay," the cat slowly spoke again, trying to calm people down. "I do not want to command any of you, but I believe it may be best if all parties cease hostilities, so that involvement can be made clear, and intentions can be communicated, yes?"

For a moment, all eyes darted to him, mostly filled with confusion. His one year of communication was apparently paying off a little, since he saw Lucia very slowly lower her bow.

"I suggest we should start with introductions, since I believe not everyone here is fully aware. I am Mercury Rainfall Starlight, a Zetraspa with above average intelligence. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." He even gave his best version of a bow as he finished, seemingly pacifying the two newcomers.

Avery simply had to smile at this display, but to some degree, he had to admit it made sense. "Avery Beckham, guild master of the godseekers. I followed an attacker on the guild here."

With a flinch, it was Birk's turn. "B-Birk Whitewood. I uh..."

"He's a member of the godseekers' guild up in Evlenor's nomad city."

"Y-Yes..."

"Hmpf, quite vile I see. I am Lucia, the Voice of Order, head priestess of the Church of Order."

"I am Iris Belrose, her attendant. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She flashed a small smile as she finished, and once again silence descended onto the room.

These people were horrible at communicating, Mercury realised. He needed to act.

"Well, now that introductions have been handled, perhaps we should explain ourselves. I suppose that miss Lucia and miss Belrose have made their way here in pursuit of the attacker on the godseekers' guild?"

"It is as such."

"The same applies to master Beckham and myself. Birk, on the other hand, happens to be the assailant."

For a moment, Mercury saw Lucia's eyes tighten, and he quickly continued speaking.

"Master Beckham was currently in the process of having him hand over any details on his co-conspirators, when we were interrupted. Afterwards, he would be subjected to a fair trial, yes?"

Avery looked at Mercury for a moment, before nodding sternly at him. "It's as he says. We were getting all the important info. He accepted a commission to cause some trouble in Stormbraver, and was provided with contacts and addresses, where he could get the supplies he needed, such as the mana bombs."

Avery quickly flashed open his hand to show off the evidence for their absolutely fake story. He showed them the mana bombs, and glanced at Birk, who quickly pulled out a small leather bound book from the backpack.

"My diary," he said. "Has everything written down."

"Perfect," Avery nodded again, focusing on the two women. "I suppose you can confirm everything here is in order?"

Mercury looked over at Lucia with quite some anxiousness on his face. He was simply praying to god that his bluff had worked. He didn't wanna die in some fishy basement, very literally meant.

Lucia stared at Avery for a moment, before curtly nodding. "I can. I trust that you will not give this boy preferential treatment, simply because he is of your guild?"

"Would you do so for a priest of your church?" Avery simply asked, and for a moment, Lucia's face twitched. Then, she frowned and grimaced.

"I see what you are saying. Fine, do to the boy as you wish. Your guild, your laws. But I do hope he sees punishment?"

"I already kicked his teeth in, head priestess."

Lucia flashed a somewhat amused and somewhat sadistic smile at this. "Good. May you bring order upon him. Let us leave, Iris."

"Ah, m'lady, may I ask for but one moment?"

"Of course."

"Mister Mercury, may I pet your fur?"

Mercury sighed. He saw Lucia's furious gaze, not allowing him to decline, but that didn't even matter to him right now. Authority and power, whatever. He was simply too tired from putting on this royal act and bluffing his way out, and honestly, these two were being more fair than he had expected at the start.

"Fine. Just this once."

"Yay!"

And for the next few seconds, all that remained were a cat's meows of embarrassment and agony.