World Sphere - 27 - First Impressions

Chapter 27 First Impressions

I awoke uncertain if yesterday had not been a bad dream. I looked at the bunk next to mine. The bed was neatly made, and the pillows were neatly arranged. Okay, maybe it was…but no. In the lower room, Aelyn was there, and she had a bunch of things out from the larder and was cooking. Her golden hair was pulled back, exposing her slightly pointed ears.

Looking at the mess, I reassessed. No, she was trying to cook. After watching her for a few minutes, nothing she was doing made sense. I groaned and descended the ladder. As I pressed my cleanliness spell, a wave of vanilla washed over me, and my body felt like I had just exited the shower.

I announced politely, “Morning, Aelyn. Callem makes breakfast in the farmhouse. There's no need to,” I waved my hands at the mess. Do this.” She looked disappointed, and I felt slightly guilty. I could see Gareth up on his bunk, pretending to sleep. He was definitely awake, as I knew he usually slept on his stomach. He was facing us on his side with his eyes falsely closed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” she looked a little abashed. “I just thought…”

I offered a weak smile. “No, problem. Gareth get down here and help put these things away,” I said. Gareth gave the fakest yawn ever and started to move and dress slowly. The ring on my finger suddenly felt heavy with responsibility as I watched the young woman.

She was quite beautiful now that I studied her. She was tall, maybe a little taller than me right now, perhaps 5’9” or a little taller. She had light blonde hair that reflected the light just past her shoulders that had a silvery highlight to it. Her shoulders were square like a swimmer's. Underneath the baggy clothes I had loaned her she had a lean and muscular frame. She had light curves on her hips and chest. Easily one of the more attractive woman I had seen in Skyholme.

“Why?” I asked, cutting the silence. When she looked puzzled at me, I added, “Why me? What do you want from me?” I didn’t like playing games or being manipulated. Gareth was still up in his loft and we were talking quietly enough he couldn’t hear. She locked her eyes on mine and it was a few seconds before she decided to answer me.

“I...I…” She started and then changed her mind. “You are young. You won't take advantage of me, and you have the potential to be a powerful protector.” My skeptical look had her continue. “You seemed to be my best option with your abilities to get me free one day. If I am good to you, you can buy my freedom from this in the lowlands!” she said passionately as she slapped the tattoo.

What was I to say in response? Internally, I was struggling and at a crossroads. Should I be the good guy and commit to helping Aelyn, a stranger, and never take advantage of our relationship? Could I just lead her on and never actually plan to help her? Or would I just abuse the power the ring had over her? The last one was really never an option for me as it didn’t fit my beliefs. I was quiet as her beautiful face slowly produced tears.

Gareth was coming down the ladder. I whispered to her, “Fine! I will do what I can to free you of the mark.” Aelyn wiped the tears before Gareth could notice them. I didn’t think they were crocodile tears, but it was definitely an attempt to garner pity from me.

After that, Aelyn’s breakfast mess was quickly cleaned up, but it was clear there was some tension between Gareth and Aelyn. I was tempted to intervene, but I didn’t have the energy right now. We all left to go to the farmhouse for breakfast.

Wynna had a large spread out and a smile on her face, “Everyone slept well? Aelyn, were the boys behaved?” Aelyn looked at me before responding, and I just nodded. Why did I have to nod for her to speak?

“Yes. They were good to me, and the accommodations were pleasant. The vanilla smell is nice, too. I was expecting the boys living arrangements to smell unpleasant.” She responded and seemed relaxed for the first time since I met her. I saw Gareth was about to comment on my vanilla scent and gave him a hard glare. He clapped his mouth shut, holding in his quip.

“Excellent! Callem will be out in a minute to talk with everyone. We have been up most of the night deciding what to do,” Wynna said. I was not comforted by those words. We all started to dig in. I went for some slightly burnt toast with scrambled eggs and filled the other half of my plate with thick-cut bacon. I thought if the shit was about to hit the fan, at least I could have a good last meal.

Callem came out and joined us. Everyone slowed their eating except for me, waiting for Callem to talk, but he just started eating too. Fifteen minutes later, the food was gone, and just empty plates were left, and all eyes were on Callem. He laid back in his chair and spoke.

“It has been an interesting night.” He gathered himself, unreadable. “Here I thought Gareth was going to be the one causing an uproar in the capital one day,” Callem sighed and looked at me and then at Gareth. “You didn’t know, but Wynna, Ennet, and I had things in motion to be your teachers at your first year of the Academy in Hen’s Hollow.” It was a shocking revelation to me. When you turned 17 you did one year of Academy, usually near your home, before proceeding to an academy for your career. “Hopefully, we can still get to that point.” Callem sipped on some juice, making us wait.

Callem continued with all of us silent and in rapt attention. “From what Storme and Gareth told us last night, we will make contact with friends in the capital to see if there is any backlash from Gareth’s spending. A few dozen platinum is not a big deal…but a few dozen platinum spent by an unknown boy might stir interest from the wrong people,” he said seriously.

My mind started putting some pieces together, and I told Callem and Wynna our original plan, “Callem we had planned to set up a mysterious patron for ourselves to funnel the wealth.”  I didn’t use the term ‘launder’ because I didn’t feel like explaining the slang to Callem. Callem looked thoughtful and nodded. It was Wynna who spoke.

“Callem, it is similar to what we planned.” Her eyes settled on Gareth, “We just need to control their impulsive spending.” Some accusation in her voice, but it was not reserved for just Gareth as she stared at me next. Why was she eyeing me? I hadn’t spent dozens of platinum openly! Maybe I directed Gareth to, but it wasn’t me. Wynna nodded mostly to herself, then spoke, “Yes. Callem can go to Solaris this week and open an account for you Storme, at the Depository.” That was basically a bank run by the Triumvirate.

I added, “Um, we have been saying our patron is a woman from the lowlands.”  Wynna pursed her lips in slight irritation.

“Well, I can make a deposit for you then. You can just tell them I am your patron.” Wynna smiled, but it felt forced. “It is well known I am quite wealthy in the capital, so it should not draw too much attention. But let us limit the deposit for you to say—ten platinum. That is a sizable amount and should last you two until you graduate from your Academy.” This was working out better than I could hope.

Callem interrupted, “I will be traveling to the capital and let it be known that Gareth.” He cleared his throat, “Umm, Gaston is my student. It should divert the Inquisition’s attention from you and onto me, Gareth.” He turned to me. “For you, Storme, I have placed pressure on Leon Mogensen’s family. That is the red-haired boy who stabbed you.” I hadn’t realized Callem had continued pursuing justice and didn’t know what to say, a knot in my throat at his concern. “Don’t get excited. His family is deeply embedded in the guards throughout the islands. My influence has waned, but I should be able to make his life miserable if I cannot get justice for you.”

We had truly been fortunate to stumble into the care of these two. “I will go with you to protect you to open Storme’s account. A young woman carrying around ten platinum is a target for thieves and cutthroats,” Callem said while giving Wynna a rare grin. There were no thieves or cutthroats in Skyholme—maybe I would have to reconsider that assertion.

“We can make a day of it. I know a great inn where we can spend the night in the city,” she returned a mischievous smile.

Callem quickly caught on to her intentions, but he looked at Aelyn, who had been quiet this entire time. “Yes, we can stay in the city. I believe I can trust these boys with Aelyn for a night. If they don’t behave, just let me know, girl,” she nodded slowly.

“Aelyn, do you have some skills? Well, if not, you soon will. You will begin training with the boys. Sebastian is bringing his granddaughter and her friend, so that should make you comfortable. Until then, you are my guest.” He stressed the last word to make her feel at ease. Callem eyed us both to make sure we understood and as a warning. He chugged his glass of juice and stood energetically, “Time for stretching!”

We went outside and started the stretching routine. We found out Aelyn was in the acrobat troupe at the carnival and she crushed all of us on mobility and flexibility. It sucked for me because I was still at the bottom of the ladder. She also took pleasure in correcting Gareth's form, which caused me to smirk for joy every time. When we finished, I went inside to make dinner. Callem decided Aelyn could chose to help with the fields or help me cook. She decided to help me. I quickly found out she was terrible in the kitchen and told her to just watch and learn. Wynna stayed was packing for the trip with Callem, leaving us to talk freely.

I soon got her talking about herself. “My mother used to be a dungeon delver. She fell in love with a human in her party, and I popped out a few months later.”

“You make it sound so romantic,” I said while dicing vegetables.

“Well, I was conceived in a dungeon. That is the only place two different races can conceive,” she retorted. “What’s more romantic than killing monsters and making love?” She broke into a laugh at my confused expression but quickly got hold of herself.

Aelyn got more serious. “Once my mother got pregnant,, she stopped dungeon delving and joined her extended family, who was the acting troupe in the carnival. I spent my entire life on that skyship, traveling from city to city.”

Thinking of all the places she had visited, I was slightly envious, “It must have been exciting.”

“Not when I was younger. The elves don’t like half-breeds like myself. I was teased every day growing up,” she sighed heavily, and I couldn’t tell if she was acting for sympathy. “I did pick up a lot of skills in the troupe and various cities we performed in.” I nodded for her to continue.

“I have been an acrobat since I was three,” she smiled while doing a stationary flip to impress me. “I have practiced with a rapier since I was six to develop my own act, learning from different sword masters across the Sphere. I am not a master yet—but in a few years I might be.” It suddenly made sense how she had fought off the Wolfsguard.

“What was your act?” I asked, finishing the meal prep by placing every in the cold chest.

“I was encircled by twelve big hairy men with swords. My outfit was—minimal. I was the innocent maiden being accosted. Everything was choreographed, but it was a good show. I had thousands of fans in the cities we performed in.” She was watching me for a reaction, but all she did was nod in acknowledgment.

“I also did shows with just the tumblers. We wore skinsuits and performed amazing feats,” she added, watching me again for a reaction. I nodded again and handed her a chocolate éclair. She bit into it, not thinking, and her face lit up in pleasure. Callem might be upset the last éclair was missing, but Aelyn needed it more.

“That is all far more impressive than my skills. I just know how to cook,” I said. She choked on the éclair. “I prepared teriyaki chicken with pineapple rice for dinner.” I had a pineapple substitute that worked just as well as pineapple. Pineapple was one of the things I hadn’t yet found in this new world.

“But you can…” she started to say and stopped. Her had shot to the tattoo and pain laced her features, ruining the mood. She hadn’t screamed in pain, which made me admire her.

“I didn’t mean you to say that,” I apologized. “Yes, I can do that, but I am just learning to master my abilities.” I had been teasing her a bit and had forgotten I had forbidden her from talking about my abilities. At least I knew the tattoo worked, even if I now felt guilty.

“It is time to go to training,” I stated, breaking the awkwardness. We headed out to the obstacle course with Callem and Gareth. Callem explained first course to Aelyn. Gareth ran the course first to show Aelyn how it was done. Aelyn ran it second and tried her hardest to beat Gareth’s time. She was just 9 seconds off his time!

“Did I beat him?” she said, sucking wind.

“No, 9 seconds slower than Gareth’s time,” Callem said with admiration.

“I will go again,” she turned to run it again. I could see her mind working, and she had probably thought of some ways to cut her time.

“No,” Callem said with finality. “It is a good first time. But you should practice all the course today.”

“All the courses?” Aelyn said in confusion, realizing she had only run a small section. I couldn’t help but smile at her. A look of determination came across her face. “I am ready!”

She wanted to beat Gareth so badly. I didn’t understand why. Gareth had essentially freed her. I still had to run the first course. I ran a disappointing 19 seconds slower than my best time and well behind the other two.

Callem decided for all of us to do the second course next, focusing more on agility so that Aelyn would have a chance to beat Gareth. As Gareth ran the course, I asked Aelyn, “What is your beef with Gareth? He is a good person, and he freed you.” Aelyn studied me and I wasn’t sure if the tattoo was going to force her to answer.

“I have a small aether core. I have only imprinted one spell, read surface thoughts. I read his thoughts and…his thoughts were wondering what I looked like naked…kissing me…and…” I waved my hands in understanding and for her to stop before my opinion of my best friend dropped. She continued, “When I read you last night…your thoughts…”

“Stop there. Please don’t do that again! You shouldn’t do that to anyone without asking.” I was shaking my head and worried about what she might have found out about me. Gareth had finished the course and was returning to us. Callem had Aelyn line up and start. She beat Gareth’s time by 6 seconds! I had cheered her the entire time. Gareth gave me a sour look as I cheered for Aelyn. But his eyes did pop when she navigated the course with rolls, tumbles, and flips. Gareth studied her movements, and I just hoped Callem didn’t get any ideas on how to make the course more difficult. Who was I kidding? Of course, the course was going to get an upgrade, and I would be at a disadvantage!

Callem congratulated her with a nod. It was great that someone could challenge and push Gareth as he was getting further and further ahead of me. Callem realized this and although Gareth might be jealous now, it would make him improve faster chasing someone.

We moved to the training yard, not doing the third course today. Callem wanted to evaluate Aelyn’s skill with the rapier. I was the third wheel as Gareth and Aelyn spared, Gareth with a lightened broad sword, and Aelyn with a training rapier.

Aelyn bested him in the first nine engagements. It made Gareth frustrated, but I was cheering for both Aelyn and Gareth equally. How had she won me over so quickly? It had to be the eyes. I was always a sucker for pretty eyes in my past life, and hers had a depth to them. The matches continued, and soon Gareth was winning 1 out of 3 engagements, but that seemed his limit, and Callem stopped the practice.

“Aelyn, you will be a master of that rapier in a few years,” Callem said with respect in his voice. “You are incredibly adept, Aelyn. And Gareth, you made a lot of progress in just a few hours. You just had trouble with her speed, as she has a much lighter weapon and better mobility. We will start to work on counters for her style of sword work.” Gareth looked relieved. He was probably worried Callem had found a new protégée. “Storme, why don’t you go study for a bit?” I was happy to get away without sparring and embarrassing myself in front of Aelyn.

I went to my loft after using cleanliness and got to work on my obfuscate abilities spell. All too soon, I was called to lunch, and both Gareth and Aelyn were an absolute mess. Gareth had a smirk of victory on his face, and Aelyn had the shadow of defeat on hers. Callem said Gareth had won 8 of the last 10 engagements. That was a huge turnaround in such a short time…just two hours or so.

Lunch consisted of sandwiches and some fruit juice that Wynna had made. Aelyn asked,  “how are you always clean all the frigging time.” She was covered in dirt, nicks, and bruises. I reached out and touched her arm, healing her minor injuries. She gasped in surprise. “You can heal, too?”

“It is the mend flesh spell,” I replied nonchalantly. I healed Gareth and noted they both had been rather intense today by the number of injuries.

Callem surveyed the table, the sandwiches were gone. “Let’s practice wrestling next.” Wrestling was more of a submission form of combat, immobilizing your opponent and getting them to submit with an arm or leg lock. I was shocked as Callem had Aelyn pair off with me first.

We were of similar size, but I was reluctant to wrestle a woman. She took the first two bouts with an arm lock because I hesitated. I wizened up with encouragement from Gareth. We split the next eight engagements. Aelyn actually looked to be having fun and encouraged me to be aggressive and not hold back. If she won, she wanted it to be a fair contest. She wasn’t very skilled in wrestling, and that was why I had a chance, even though she was quicker, more flexible and more slippery. As long as I treated her like any other combatant, I could overpower her and lock her up sometimes.

We were both filthy after the practice, and I used my cleanliness spell on myself. Aelyn gaped again, “You know the cleanliness spell, too?” She looked down at her dirty clothes.

Gareth chimed in with a grin, “He does, but he is too selfish to evolve it to clean others.”

I rolled my eyes, “I just learned it a few weeks ago, Gareth,” I said defensively. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to utilize so many evolutions for that path.

After wrestling, we went to practice with staves. I easily bested Aelyn as she was unfamiliar with the weapon, and Callem instructed her as she improved rapidly. Then, I was paired with Gareth, and he had his chance to get revenge for all the times I cheered Aelyn over him today. I actually got two concussions from him that I had to heal. Callem was a bit angry with my injuries as head strikes were generally off-limits unless we were wearing the hard leather caps, and today we were not.

It was finally time for dinner, and after cleaning the practice yard, Aelyn went to wash in the stream, and Gareth didn’t know what to do. There really was only one spot in the stream deep enough to wash. He ended up waiting for her to return before going to wash. I just used my spell to clean up and used my brief amount of spare time to study my spell.

While Gareth was gone, Aelyn talked to me. “So, what other magic do you have? Cleaning, healing, cooking, gold producing…you are basically the perfect man.” I blushed hard at Aelyn’s words.

“You brought me some new spells. I hope to learn them in the next few months.” I said. Wow, in less than a day, the young woman had befriended me and learned all my secrets. I showed her the spellbooks she had given me. When Gareth returned, clean and smelling a lot better, I cast my vanilla scent a few times to irritate him as he was sick of the scent.

When Aelyn returned clean, we all went to the farmhouse, and I cooked the prepped meal. Aelyn was very impressed with the dish, having two servings. I had made enough for 10 people, but it was all gone in an hour, and Gareth also seemed impressed at Aelyn’s stomach. During the meal, Callem and Wynna did most of the talking, with Callem relaying the results of the days training to Wynna. I noticed that Callem had managed to praise all of us multiple times.

I wish I had made a dessert tonight, but I hadn’t thought about it. I really wanted to make ice cream, and I just needed a cold container. Maybe I could use ice from the freezer to insulate a bucket.

After the dishes were done, we sat down for lessons with Wynna. Tonight, we had Aelyn with us, and Wynna’s lessons were on the cultures and inhabitants of the lowlands. We had only spent an hour listening to Aelyn describe her impressions of various cities and cultures. I noted that she had a nice feminine voice that was easy to listen to.

Finally, Callem stood and said, “Fantastic effort today. Storme can study, and Gareth, we can discuss variances in attacks with Flying Eagle and Thunder Strike.”

“Can I stay and discuss the sword forms as well?” Aelyn was asking me for permission, not Callem. I was surprised but nodded.

Later, in the evening, Aelyn and Gareth returned. Since Aelyn was next to me, she whispered two words to me before she crawled under her blankets: “Thank you.”