[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer]

Chapter 90 – New Leaf II

“Yes, hello! Who is it?” Shrubley asked.

When there was no answer, he approached the door and opened it himself.

His lamplight eyes went wide in surprise.

With a hand on her floppy hat, the impressive figure of Miranda stepped in. She was so tall she had to duck beneath the doorframe.

The reaction was more than she would have thought possible. Shrubley welcomed her excitedly while Slyrox leapt through the air and clung to her arm, squeezing with all her tiny might.

“The Countess is come to join us!” she cried.

“What makes you think that?” the Countess asked imperiously, but the moment the words were out of her mouth, she realized she could not keep up the facade. Even if she had not read those letters on the way toward Taamra, she did not think she could stop her heart from seizing with joy at seeing the little scamps again.

Cal fidgeted with his robe. “You are coming to say goodbye to us?” he asked.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Smudge began to cry with joy as he bounced around his teacher’s ankles. “P-p-pyuuuuu!”

“Yes, yes, damn you all, I’m coming along with you!” the Countess roared. Then she modulated her tone a little and bent to give both Slyrox and the sniveling Smudge a pat on the head. “That is,” she said, turning to Shrubley, “if you will have me.”

Shrubley’s eyes brightened considerably. “Of course we would! There is no need to ask. You are always welcome, Countess!”

Despite her outward demeanor, the Countess felt a wave of relief flood from her breast, a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She hadn’t been sure what Shrubley’s answer would be. Even with the letters, how would it look like from the childlike shrub’s perspective? To be ignored, turned away, and stonewalled at every attempt to reach out to her?

There had been no need to worry, she realized. This was Shrubley. He was the purest-hearted creature she had ever seen, and that was partly why she felt so odd seeking out his company. Who ever thought that the Terror of the Tyrnbil would walk in the company of one so pure and kindly?

Sose scampered down the tall woman and greeted each of the monster adventurers with a series of friendly dooks. Smudge bounced onto the oppa and the pair engaged in some playful wrestling.

“We were just about to leave,” Shrubley said. “I had hoped to come visit you once more at your manor…”

The Countess knelt and put a hand on his leafy head. “I am sorry for your treatment, Shrubley. You must know that it was not my doing. My husband… he can be stupid at times. We have a long and sordid history, but he is a… well, not good, but decent sort. He is prone to fits of jealousy, however, and I am sure he will not take my departure well.”

Shrubley nodded as if this all made sense to him. “Then that is his burden to bear. He will have the opportunity to grow and heal.”

Miranda studied Shrubley’s lamplight eyes curiously. She could never be sure if she was being wound up by him or not.

The little shrub was insightful, but also terribly naïve. At times the two facets were at a crossroads and from anybody else it would seem as if he was making fun of her, but there was not a cruel bone in Shrubley’s body.

Or any bones, for that matter, considering he was a shrub.

It was Cal that picked up on the impending predicament first. “If I might ask, how strong is your husband? Is he too a Steel Ranker?”

“Oh, him? No. Barely Mid Iron, and only when he’s pushing himself hard,” the Countess said. “There was a reason the Snake Lord, Rykal chose to imprison me in the mirror realm and to subjugate my foolish husband. He was far easier to deal with.”

Cal nodded slowly.

“That is because the Countess is muchly strong!” Slyrox said, still clinging to Miranda’s bicep like a large pool floaty.

Despite the lack of flesh and all those bits, the skeleton still managed to appear worried. Mid Iron was nothing compared to Steel, but that rank was still vastly stronger than Shrubley’s Copper might.

Once again, Cal was concerned for his friend. And as he thought about it further, he grew concerned for them all. Next to the Countess, Shrubley was the strongest among them.

“All right, all right,” she said, begrudgingly removing Slyrox from her arm. “Where were you intending to go?”

Shrubley scuffed the floor with a wooden foot. “Well, I was thinking of heading west. We are at the eastern end of the Empire. West would bring us into the Outer Ring, yes?”

“That is right.”

“Then we will go west.” Shrubley looked out of the window. “I always liked the west. The sun sets there, and I do so enjoy sunsets.” Cal gave him an agreeable nod. They had watched Cal’s first sunset together. “Walking westward toward the setting sun has always felt like going home.”

“But where are you going?” she pressed.

“West,” Shrubley repeated.

Miranda tried hard to keep from pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yes… I gather. Let me try it like this: what is your destination?”

“I do not have one.”

“You…”

“Do not have one, yes,” Shrubley completed helpfully for her.

Sose shook his head, carrying Smudge around on his back, who was thoroughly enjoying the ride.

“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Miranda said. “You’re going west, but I have a destination in mind. For now, the west is a fine direction. It’ll take us closer to our intended destination and we’ll have an easier time finding essences for the rest of you on the road.”

“Really?” Cal asked excitedly.

“Yes, my dear,” Miranda said smoothly, “the only reason any of you were able to gain essences in the first place was because you were locked in that dreadful mirror realm. Ordinarily finding essences out in the wild here would be nigh impossible. The mana density is far too low. We’ll need to travel further inland, where the mana is denser. Find a Dungeon if we’re very lucky.”

“That is an excellent plan,” Shrubley said, nodding his leafy body.

“You are packed?” Miranda asked.

Slyrox gave Miranda a thumbs up, her backpack bulging with supplies rattled with a couple pans and pots.

“Then let us be gone from this place before the town decides to throw a festival in your honor,” Miranda told them.

Cal hefted his backpack onto his bony shoulders and looked at her. “But what about yourself, Countess?”

“I have everything I need,” she told him over her shoulder.

The Countess ducked one last time through the doorframe and they began their journey.

As early in the day as it was, it didn’t take long for Shrubley and his group to be accosted by the locals. Not even the Countess’ grumbling could dissuade the people from approaching the little shrub and his party of monster adventurers.

When it became known they were leaving, Shrubley’s group drew an ever-growing crowd.

Countless people asked them to stay, monsters wanted to be trained by them, to follow in their footsteps, but Shrubley handled it with remarkable aplomb.

The Countess watched with keen interest as he smoothly handled all their requests, but he was firm in his choice. He knew what he wanted and was not going to let anything dissuade him from his course of action.

Shrubley was like that. You would be forgiven for thinking that he was a pushover, somebody who would try to bend and be amenable to any situation at their own expense.

That was not Shrubley.

He was kind, but people often confused kindness with weakness. And in Shrubley’s case, that would be a fatal mistake.

They left Taamra behind far faster than the Countess would have ever thought possible considering the droves of people who came out to beg or bribe them to stay.

At the gates of the town, a familiar group of adventurers waited.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?” Remal asked, leaning on a crutch. “I’m wounded!”

Shrubley gave a flowery bow. His lamplight eyes sparkled with mirth. “I did not wish to deny you the opportunity to be the center of attention.”

Remal looked around at all the faces of the town out to see Shrubley off, now watching the exchange with keen interest. The Steel Rankers that had been saved by Shrubley were there to see him off. It was a momentous occasion for the sleepy little town that had seen so much excitement lately.

“Where will you go?” Jerric asked, stepping forward.

“West,” Shrubley said simply. It was all he told anyone who asked.

“Then take this,” Jerric pressed a medallion into the shrub’s hand. “This is an emblem of my House, show it and you will be treated as a scion of House Malrese.”

Shrubley looked down at the medallion. He held it reverently. “Thank you Jerric, I do not know what to say.”

“Say you will be careful,” Jerric told him, straightening up. “The world is a dangerous place, doubly so for one so brave and noble. There are many who will try to swindle you, rob you, or outrightly kill you simply for what you are. I wish it were not so, but wishes do not change reality.”

The Steel Paladin’s eyes met the Countess’ and an understanding passed between them.

“Well, can’t have the Paladin get all the credit for seeing you safely on your way,” Remal said, limping over to Shrubley. He tossed him a fat coin. “Take this. It’s my lucky charm.”

Shrubley turned the large blue-green coin stamped with strange symbols in his hands. “It is very heavy.”

“It’s also mine,” Remal said. “This is just a loan. I expect to have it back when we meet again in the Grancastle.”

The very word sent a ripple of shock among the populace. Even Miranda gasped at the compliment and the implied challenge.

Shrubley tucked it away with a nod. “You will have it back.”

“I suppose it is my turn then,” Fio said, kneeling and handing Shrubley a small tome. “This is something I have prepared especially for you, little shrub. Your command of magic is lacking, if I am allowed to be blunt as only a friend can. Take this and grow.”

Shrubley took the tome reverentially. He treated every book this way, no matter its contents, but this he handled as if it might fly away at the slightest startlement. “Thank you,” he whispered in awe.

“That just leaves me, I guess,” Henry said. The Steel Archer stepped forward and tossed a tightly bound green bundle to Shrubley. “Use it well.”

With the last of the gifts given, Shrubley and his party left Taamra. He didn’t know how long it would be until he returned, but he looked forward to seeing how the little border town–that had once seemed as great as a metropolis–changed as time passed.

The crowd dispersed, but the adventurers remained behind to watch the group retreating down the winding country road. Half a mile out of town, they hopped onto a farmer’s cart and began the first leg of their journey.

“I don’t think what’s coming next will stop that little shrub,” Fio remarked, though her sad smile betrayed her inner worry.

“We should be going with them,” Remal said with a frustrated shake of his head. “Damn this leg, I still could walk.”

“You know that isn’t the way this has to be,” Jerric said. “The gods themselves have decreed it.”

“Since when do we ever do exactly as the gods require?” Remal asked sourly. “He’s a little shrub! The guy saved all of us, and we’re just supposed to let him walk into a proverbial highstorm?”

“The Bard is right,” Henry grumbled. “It is not just.”

“Life is not just,” Jerric said with a shake of his head. “We have given him the help that we are allowed. And even that I fear the gods may find us in the wrong.”

“Then let them,” Fio said, looking sympathetically at their backs. “They’ll need all the help they can get for what is to come.”

“Let us hope that Shrubley is up to the task,” Jerric said, turning away from the view. “For all our sakes.”