Songstress

Kalistra stood across the street and waited until I returned to my guest room. It was located in the second window from the left end of the tavern on the second floor. She briefly saw my shadow sitting down and finally released the party.

Kalistra felt guilty for pushing me so hard but given my Level 1 status, she knew that it was a matter of survival for me. If I left the school in my injured and exhausted state and then died on the street, it would sully her personal Honor. Thus, she had to follow me to ensure my safe return to The Noble Lady. She suspected that she will be following me for the next few days until my body became adjusted to the physical regimen of my training.

Kalistra went inside the tavern and looked around until she saw Vern; he was working as the bartender this evening. She walked across the common room and stood in front of the bar table. "I need to speak with you, Vern," she said quietly.

The orcish tavern keeper grunted and left his station. He walked into the kitchen and waited for Kalistra to enter. "Yes?" he grunted curtly.

"I assume you already met a nobleman named 'Lawrence Eugene Mulligan?' My papa has assigned me to be his instructor at my dojo," Kalistra revealed quietly.

Vern immediately burst out laughing!

The kitchen staff was startled by their employer. It was RARE to hear the prickly-tempered orc laugh. For some of the workers, it was the first time that they heard him laugh. It was a harsh sound with slight wheezing and whistling mixed in with a deep huffing sound. When they saw his glare, the workers immediately turned their heads back to their work.

"Please keep this a secret but my new pupil is only Level 1," she continued.

Vern grunted. "Yes, I had my suspicion. He is far too weak for his age. So you want me to keep an eye on him while he is in my tavern?" he surmised with amusement. The cat girl wasn't the only one to make this request of the formidable warrior.

Kalistra nodded.

"Will you trade a favor for a favor?" the orc asked.

"What do you have in mind?" the cat girl's eyes gleamed in curiosity. The orc was unpredictable due to his Chaotic alignment but Kalistra had never seen him commit evil. Thus, she never felt the need to draw her blade against the veteran warrior. However, it would be interesting to see who would win in a duel between the two seasoned warriors. Nonetheless, Kalistra was confident that she will be the victor.

"The young kid, Gendun, will turn thirteen soon and need to start an apprenticeship. I do not want him to waste his life tethered to a tavern. I would like you to accept him as your personal apprentice in swordsmanship," Vern requested. "I will foot the bill for his expenses at your dojo," he added as if the substantial monetary commitment was a mere afterthought.

Kalistra stared at the orc. She was very surprised by the request. It was rather generous of him considering that Gendun was not of his blood. "Before I accept your request I have one question: Are Gendun and Lawrence friends?" she asked.

"Yes," he grunted.

Kalistra grinned and revealed her sharp teeth. "Then we have a deal."

#

An hour later, the barmaid knocked on the door. "Milord, it's Amelica," she said. Hearing no reply, the maid expertly balanced the tray of food on her left hand and forearm while taking a ring of keys out of her right pocket. She thumbed over the guest keys until she found the one for room "F" and then unlocked the door. When she entered, the maid saw that I had fallen asleep on the nightstand.

Amelica set the tray down on top of the storage chest, which had a flat top; she didn't want to leave the tray of food on the floor in case, however unlikely, a mouse was scurrying about. Freed of her burden, Amelica walked around the bed and approached me. She shook my left shoulder and tried to wake me up but failed to do so.

She had seen the blood stain on my shirt over the right shoulder and avoided touching it. She pondered what to do. If I ended up dying in the guest room, then the Watch will open an investigation over my death. Furthermore, rumors will spread regarding the cause of my death and suspicion will inevitably fall on the former orcish war leader and his staff. Thus, she resolved to use her special skills that she had acquired a long time ago and try her best to heal me.

Amelica put her right arm around my back and under my right armpit. She then lifted me up and dragged my body over to the bed.

Surprisingly, I still hadn't stirred awake despite being physically manhandled in this manner.

Well, in order to provide her special services, Amelica will have to do something about that. She knelt on the floor, leaned toward my head, and gently patted my face. "Milord, please wake up," she said. Seeing the soft approach having no effect, she decided to try a different tactic. She grabbed my left earlobe between her right thumb and forefinger and squeezed. Hard.

The sharp pain immediately jolted me awake! "Oww!" I said as a pop-up appeared. It read, "-1 Health."

"Are you awake now, milord?" a familiar voice said

I turned my head and saw that Amelica's face was very close to mine.

Suddenly, the beautiful maid realized how close she was and immediately pulled her head back. Her cheeks blushed furiously.

I called up my player screen and winced. I saw that my exhausted condition was still in effect. Apparently, I hadn't slept enough to recover from the adverse effect. However, my Health did recover slightly as I now had 7 more Health points than before. "How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"You slept for an hour, milord," the maid replied.

I nodded. Adding back the loss of one Health point just now when Amelica pinched my ear, this meant that my natural recovery rate was 8 Health points per hour. I wasn't fully healed but a good night's sleep should allow me to completely recover my health. I tried to pull myself off the bed but I dropped back down immediately with a "plop" sound. My back had locked up again.

"Please forgive me for being too forward with this request but join my party," Amelica requested.

I turned my head over to look at Amelica and saw that she was blushing and looking down at her hands. My mind returned to the last time I had partied with another character—Kalistra. I wondered what sort of abilities this barmaid had. I finally hit "Yes" on the pop-up and joined Amelica's party.

She made a face upon seeing my condition and reduced health. She put a hand on my chest, closed her eyes, and started to sing.

I was unable to make out the words as it was not in English. However, the song was beautiful and Amelica had a wonderful voice. Her song was soothing and her purity reached out to my very soul. Warmth emanated from my chest and slowly spread throughout my entire body. By the time the song was over, I felt completely refreshed. A check on my player screen confirmed that my exhaustion had been removed and my health was completely healed.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check Amelica's player stats and the middle column read: "Name: Amelica [X], Race: Human, Alignment: Lawful Good, Profession: Barmaid/Songstress, Level: 7, Experience: 26,962/28,000, Reputation: 12,851, Attack: 36, Damage: 5-7 (Unarmed)." The right column read: "Health: 52, Stamina: 53, Mana: 125/140, Strength: 17, Intelligence: 18, Wisdom: 22, Dexterity: 20, Constitution: 15, Charisma: 23."

I sighed deeply when I finished reading her stats. Why was everyone I met so much more powerful than me? But then again, I understood why she was treating me so nicely—she had a Lawful Good alignment. Her former profession of songstress was not one that I was familiar with. My best guess was that she was a support character similar to a Bard. What bothered me, though, was the "X" in place of Amelica's surname. Did it mean that she was formerly a member of the nobility? If so, how did she lose her heritage?

Amelica's face turned into one of puzzlement. "If I may ask, milord, how old are you?"

"I'm 36," I replied.

"How can an adult like you stay at Level 1?" she asked rhetorically. Also, she was very surprised that I was that old! Normally, people at that age would carry gray hair on their head like her uncle had when he was still alive. Yet, I looked strong and as healthy as a bull! Physically, I looked at least ten years younger. My chest was broad and she felt strong muscles under her fingertips. If I ever decided to pour my time, energy, and money into training I could easily become a match even for Vern as a fighter! As a man, I was full of contradictions!

"Honestly, I woke up on a nearby street this morning and found myself in this world. I came from a very different world," I replied.

The songstress looked at me intently as if she was seeing me for the first time. She then grabbed my left hand and squeezed it warmly. "I don't know why but I do believe you," she said quietly. The only people she had encountered in her life at level one were children. It was nearly impossible for an adult to stay at level one because the world was dangerous and few would survive at that level.

Suddenly, Amelica's thoughts returned to the incident on the street near the tavern this afternoon. Her patrons were talking about it for hours over drinks at the bar. "You did a very foolish thing this afternoon," she commented while squeezing my hand a little harder.

"How so?" I stared blankly at her frown.

"You fought Ebenthal the bandit on the street. You were very lucky that he didn't kill you on the spot," she glared into my eyes as if to dare me to deny it.

I sighed again. "I was just trying to defend myself. During the fight, I heard dice rattling inside my mind. When it stopped I got a pop-up saying that I had made a Dexterity saving throw," I admitted.

Her hand suddenly squeezed even harder but not enough to incur another loss of health. "Milord, Lady Luck has blessed you. I would like to take you to visit her shrine so that you could make an appropriate offering," she said.

"How so?" I asked again. I strained to remember what the Dungeons & Dragons rules said about saving throws.

"When you hear dice rattling, it means that you have reached a critical point in your life. If you miss the saving throw it could lead to instant death," Amelica explained patiently.

"Oh," I pursued my lips into an "O" shape for the second time today. It appeared that I had escaped death by luck alone.

Suddenly, an "Oh!" escaped from the maid's lips, too. "Your dinner is getting cold, milord," she said. The maid quickly got up and walked around my bed to retrieve the forgotten tray of food. She took the tray and placed it on the nightstand.

"I have to go back to work, milord. I will return to retrieve the tray," she said. Amelica offered me another warm smile and left the room.

I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked out. I learned a lot about her today. As I began to eat my cold supper, my mind continued to think only of Amelica.