Party for Two

Time has flown since I had left the nest of my house. Two years passed by with little notice, not that each day did not bring its own challenges. But, these challenges were not without fruit. In my journey to the Crimson Edge, I had encountered and noted many plants. I had also encountered many enemies along the way. My journey was not a straightforward one as I felt I had much more to learn and grow in before I would be using my skills for hire in a guild. My Father had not urged me to make my journey there quick, so instead, I trained during downtime on the journey. I had also stopped and stayed at various towns along my path, learning from various townspeople. I had learned a handful of new potions and pills that would be beneficially in my travels, as well as some other more utilitarian medicines. In one town I had holed up in a smithy in exchange for labor. Through that town, I had been able to develop some of the techniques that had been imparted to me. Through it all, I had advanced and developed what little strength I had into a modest physique, albeit a lanky one.

Now standing before me are tall wooden doors banded together with metal. I open the doors and walk into a pentagonal room. Inside it almost looked like a tavern or an inn that I had passed through on my journey here. I backpedal back enough to reread the sign. Sure enough, it does say 'Crimson Edge.' I enter the building again and on the left side of the room, I see quite a number of people are eating and playing cards. I walk up to the nearest table and at it are four people playing cards. On the right side of the room, there seems to be a sort of administration section, almost like from a bank. Feeling overwhelmed by that tables I shuffle over to the nearest table, which looks to be in the middle of a poker match. One of the people at the table, a girl with short blond hair, looked at me. The look gives me chills, as I get the feeling she doesn't want to talk. But I remember why I am here, and muster the courage to ask my questions anyway.

"How do you join this guild?" I managed to get out.

She squints her eyes, as I can see she is trying to figure me out. She points to the other section I was straying away from.

"Admin Desk." She says curtly.

"What about accepting quests?"

"Just go ask at the admin desk."

Heading the warning shrowded by the phrase I turn around an head towards the incredibly drab administration tables. The man sitting at the table seems incredibly bored and over his job. As he sees me approaching his face moves from false happiness, to confusion, then too true happiness.

"I've never seen you around before, are you here to post a quest?"

"Umm, no I am here to join the guild," I say softly.

He seems a bit crestfallen.

"Ah, I will get you a historian application."

"Umm, I was hoping to be a combatant."

His eyes shift from the pile of papers he was beginning to flip through.

"You want a combatant application?" He says in a monotone question.

"Yes."

The administrator looks at me with a sad but uncaring expression.

"Fine. I am sure you know it is dangerous. I will not try to sway you. You know how affinities and such work yes?"

I furrow my eyebrows.

"Umm, no I do not. Nor have I heard of them."

"You want to join an adventuring guild, but have never heard of affinities?! Affinities are a measure of how fast you can train your attributes! How good you are at something! How do you not know this?! Where did you grow up?"

"I'm from outside of Hawic, and my father never cared to mention anything about that even though he was an adventurer here."

The administrator sighs

"There are four main attributes. They are a measure of your strengths. Each attribute has its own affinity. The affinity is a measure of how fast you can train your strengths. Your affinity to these attributes will never change. There is an additional affinity, however, it does not directly correlate to an attribute, it is simply a measure of luck.

Anima is the first attribute, and it is a measure of bodily attributes. Strength, dexterity, and the like.

Spiritus is a measure of willpower and other mental attributes.

Reni is a measure of senses and perception.

Tutamen is a measure of the durability of the body.

These affinities are measured on a scale of 1-100. 1 is near impossible to train, and 100 is a gifted god at training that attribute.

We will measure your affinities and attributes first, then we will get to paperwork. Put out your hand."

He reaches into the desk, retrieves a small orb, and places it in my hand. Immediately my hand starts to tingle as if it is asleep. In front of me, words and numbers are dancing around me in dazzling colors. I can't help but have my mouth drop. Finally, the words condense and all that is left is five words and five numbers. The administrator makes a confused face and asks,

"Have you ever considered yourself unlucky?"

I scratch my head. Thinking back on previous experiences, I guess I could consider it bad luck. Many strange things happen every now and again, but I never considered it bad luck, they just happen.

"No?" I reply.

"Well, that is interesting. You have some rather.... er.. interesting affinities."

He pulls out a sheet of paper and starts to write down the numbers before him.

"So, it looks like you have a slightly above average Anima with a rating of 55, An above average Spiritus with 61, A very above average Reni with 78, An under average Tutamen of 46, and a very below average Pelos, or luck, of 32. You seem to have decent enough affinities, I don't see why you can't join as a combatant. You need to do a lot of training, however. Now, let us measure your actual attributes."

He taps the orb in my hand and utters a phrase, and immediately my vision goes dark. I immediately jump, and the hairs on my neck stand up. Then I hear the administrator.

"Ah, I forgot to tell you about that. Calm down, what you are experiencing right now is natural."

Those words calm me down a bit, and I begin to relax. Soon I regain my vision and once again there are numbers floating in front of me. My focus turns from the numbers and notices the face of the administrator in front of me. He seems pale.

"I... I did not expect this at all. You are so scrawny; how are you trained?"

He shakes his head and looks at me once again. This time I can see he is not doubting me as much as he was.

"Anima, 52, Sesar I.

Spiritus, 63, Sesar III.

Reni, 59, Sesar II.

Tutamen, 46, Sei X."

"What do you mean by Sesar and Sei?"

"Those are the categories of skill. They are divided into three categories: basic, professional, and mighty. The basic category has two subcategories, Sei, and Sesar. Sei being the lowest. Each category has ten divisions within it to help for better understanding. The higher the number the better you are. Professional has four categories with five subcategories, Mutan, Nera, Pitae, and Lunula, in the order of least to most strength. Then there is the mighty tier which has one category, but an infinite number of subcategories. This category is called Tenol. The best of the best are there in every attribute.

I nod my head, and he slides the application in front of me. I begin to fill it out as I hear the administrator begin to speak.

"I am Elris. I am the administrator of this guild as I am sure you realized. What is your name?"

I look up at Elris.

"I am Fulnis Ebran Tellet."

Elris once again displays a shocked expression.

"You are the son of Marus Tellet, the Hammer?"

"Yes my father is Marus Tellet, but I have never heard of that nickname. In fact, he never told me much about this guild until two years ago."

Elris sighs as I finished completing the application.

"I suppose he thought you had the hot blood that he had and did not want to spark your fire. Well, here you are now. He was not a particularly high-rank guild member since he was only copper rank, however, he was very well respected."

I smiled a bit, then I felt a smaller hand on my shoulder.

"Heeeey buddy" I heard a familiar feminine voice say. "Look… seems how you probably don't wanna get yourself killed or worse, I'll help you out I guess. You can be a part of my party. You do know what parties are newbie?"

I frown a bit.

"While I am new, I am not clueless. I can join your party, but I'm not helpless. Why did you want me in your party in the first place?"

"Rule Number A don't hunt with other members they're asses"

a voice from across the room shouts "You're a fine one to talk!"

"Case and point, Two I saw your stats and there decent, not complete rubbish but decent, Oh and three, Cause I am on training duty for the next couple of weeks," she continues.

Elris looks at the girl that had approached me, and I turn around to face her.

"Valkah, we aren't finished yet. He does not have a rank tattoo, nor has he been assigned a dorm."

I raise my eyebrow at Elris and turn to look at Valkah again. She is a bit shorter than me, about five foot seven, with a moderate build in contrast to my lanky build. She has a sword hanging from her hip. She isn't particularly well endowed, but still a pretty enough face with piercing purple-blue eyes. Her clothing overall is rather untidy as if she just walked out of her room to play cards. Oddly enough she smelled faintly of wine. She sees me looking her over and becomes a bit defensive, to which I look back at Elris.

"What else do I need to do?" I question.

Elris pulls out another item from the desk and cracks it open. From it, a black liquid amasses in the air into a pulsating orb.

"Where do you want the tattoo?"

I remove the gauntlet on my right arm and point to the outside of my forearm. Immediately the black liquid flows from the orb it was floating in and starts passing into the area I pointed too. It burned, but it was not unbearable. Soon all that was left was a thin diamond about two inches long on my forearm.

"Welcome to the Crimson Edge. You are now Stone rank. As you rank up the tattoo will gain another line forming a unique symbol."

I look at my forearm again, intrigued, but disappointed. Perhaps my first rank line could have been a bit more interesting than just a diamond, however, there is no use in moping about over it. He mentioned something about a dorm earlier, does that mean I will be housed here?

"You mentioned something about a dorm?" I asked.

He nods. "Since Valka over here is so keen on having you in her party, you will be rooming with her, considering she doesn't have any other party members."

Immediately I flip my head to her then back to Elris.

"W-What?! Ummmmm... I don't know how to feel about this."

Elris grins. "Well, it seems like you don't have a choice in the matter."

I hang my head knowing that it will be easier to submit. Elris waves goodbye as Valkah excitedly drags me to a complex of buildings. She stops in front of a smaller stone house and fiddles with the lock until the door opens. She slides the stone door open and we step inside the house. It is unexpectedly tidy for someone who looks like they slept with a dog. She doesn't appear to have many possessions, but what she does have is in a wide variety. In the left corner of her room, there is a set of scale mail that seems to be made of many different sets of scales. Elsewise the table near the bed has a few baubles and trinkets that appear to be hers. On the other side of the room, there is a table and a closet with some dividers in it, as well as a bland bed. I take off the satchel I am wearing and start to retrieve and place my valuables in their appropriate places. Once I had sorted and placed everything around my room I pull out my bandoliers and tool belts. I put them on and sort a few things into the pockets.

I noticed Valkah has removed her sword from its scabbard and has started inspecting the blade with a distasteful look on her face. I walk up to her and look at the blade she is inspecting. She jumps as she did not hear my approach but then shows me her sword. The sword has many large teeth on the spine for catching and breaking sword blades. I notice that in the middle of the blade there is a crack running parallel to the blade.

"Its worthless isn't it?" she asks obviously irritated and upset.

"Not quite. You are lucky, I managed to pick up a technique and materials that can repair this."

At those words, she seems to perk up a lot. I extend my hand and gingerly grab the blade. I start to pull the sword to me so that I can go to the forge, but her hand is still attached to the sword.

"Umm... I will need to be able to hold the swordbreaker to repair it." I say.

She opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it, squints at me, then releases the sword. I then turn out of the room and head to where I can hear the ringing of hammers and metal. Soon I arrive at the forge with Valkah in hot pursuit. I step up to an empty anvil and furnace and light it as my father had taught me through the stone. As the fire starts to heat up I take off my shirt and bandoliers. I notice Valkah looking me over, but ignore it in order to focus on the repair. I fiddle with the hilt until I am able to remove it. Once I have the blade and the tang free I place the sword into the fire. Once the sword is up to temperature I remove a small bag from my belt and sprinkle a bit of its contents on the crack and the surrounding area. Quickly I place the sword on the anvil as the powder liquifies then converts into steel. Quickly I take up a hammer next to the anvil and begin working the metal droplets into and around the cracked area. Soon the ringing of the hammer lulls me into a trance of work. I place the blade in to heat up once again. Only to pull it out and begin the wait. Once the sword has cooled enough to touch again, I place it back in the fire and quench it. I remove the sword from the water of the quench bath and look at it. The crack has been repaired, but the heat treating was not perfect. It won't be enough to affect its utility, however, it will irk me. Sighing I begin to sharpen and polish the blade. Once it is reassembled I get up and turn around to head back to the dorm. But I notice a figure standing near me, and remember that Valkah had been watching me the entire time. I turn to look at the setting sun.

"So you stayed here to watch me repair your swords for two to three hours? I guess this sword means a lot to you then."

"What did you use to repair it. It is impossible to repair cracks like that in weapons."

"Ah, that I am not able to tell you about. Not only that, but it would be a lengthy explanation. Just know that it is hard to make."

"And you used it to repair the sword of a person you just met."

"Well, we are going to be party members, yes?"

I smile. It is worth the investment to keep your party members weapons from breaking. Even if they barely use them, it is still practice for me.

Valkah speaks up once again. "How long did you have to work down the blacksmithing path?"

"Blacksmithing line?" I ask. "What do you mean blacksmithing line?"

"Well not knowing this isn't as surprising as not knowing the attributes. Come with me back to the dorm."

I follow her back to the dorm after putting my shirt back on. When we get back to the dorms Valkah sits in the middle of the floor and gestures for me to join her. I sit on the floor in front of her.

"Start meditating. Once you have cleared your mind, begin to focus on yourself, then imagine it in comparison to the stars."

I close my eyes and begin to meditate. Soon I lose myself in the drift of thought and eventually I am standing on a black floor with an abundance of stars overhead. I gaze at them for a while and take in their beauty, then I change my attention to the floor around me. What once looked to be empty is now a tree of lines formed from a shifting and radiant light. I am currently standing at the origin point of them all. As I follow the branching of these paths with my eyes I begin to understand. This a representation of the skills I have acquired. My eyes widen now as I understand this beautiful representation of life. I begin to think about the blacksmithing I had done for Valkah and soon the tree shifts leaving one path remaining in front of me. I walk along the thin line knowing what happened at each new point. Hammering, Forge temperature control, bellows handling, each one an achievement and grain of knowledge ingrained in my person. I soon arrive at the end of the branching lines, but I know where it will take me next, Bladesmithing.

Next, I shift my attention to alchemy, and once again the tree begins to mold and shift. This tree is much more complicated and crossing than the previous. As I walk down this line I notice at some of the intersections there are plants that I had seen and studied growing from some of the nodes. These must be my knowledge and understanding of the plants and the medicines I could make from them. I look down the path and walk to the end. The path leads to a fundamental understanding of pills and separation of energies from plants allowing for refined potions and pills. I nod my head. This realm will probably act as a roadmap in the future as I grow in mastery of my crafts.

Then an idea hits me. "What about combat skills?" I alter my thought process and before me, another tree begins to crawl along the floor. Immediately, I know that this is the fruit of my martial arts. This tree is much longer compared to the others. I walk to the end once again and I look at the last node, this one, however, is different. Instead of the other nodes that shined brightly, this one only glowed dimly, and I could not make out what its true purpose was. I began to stare at it. After a few moments, I sat down and thought about what I was missing from my training. I had already gone down the path of strengthening my body and mind, but what else could I be missing? Then it hit me, my spirit. I then turned my senses inward and began to meditate. Time soon began to melt away around me as hours seemed only minutes and minutes seemed hours. When I opened my eyes the node was shining brightly. I smiled as I knew that I had just discovered cultivation. A foundation for the use of Ki, or energy, to strengthen my body as well as my attacks. My basic training was the groundwork for this discovery. Soon I turned my mind from the stary path and opened them to see an ornate black and gold teacup laying on the ground in front of me. I pick it up, and as I do a soft and dull noise permeates the room.

"Snooooooore"

I glance around and notice that Valkah is facedown knocked out on the bed, wearing the same clothes as earlier. I notice the covers aren't even over her. I pick up the tea and sip it.

"Bah, cold, but not bad. I wonder how long she waited for me to get up?"

I stand up and walk over to her bed. I gently try to fish the sheets out from under her but end up wrestling with the dead unconscious weight on top of them. 'Good thing she is a heavy sleeper.' rolls through my mind, as I finally win the game of tug of war. I throw the sheets on top of her then sit on top of my bed and begin to cultivate.