[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 88 – The Last Nail in the Coffin

Miranda Haalften stared at the [Teacher’s Questbook] in her pale hand. It practically begged to be used.

Quests were incredibly rare to come by. Sacred artifacts such as this one were one of the primary ways to acquire their boons of experience, loot, and direction. It was clear what role this questbook served.

And it would go to waste in this manor, just like the Countess. She would be stuck at the Limit of Steel in these lands forever if she did not make a drastic change.

She tucked away the questbook inside her [Shadeweave Traveler’s Cloak], and got on her way, navigating the halls of her manor in the dead of night. The proper time for a vampyr to be out and about without the burning sting of the sun to wane their powers.

Whiskers twitching, Sose dooked a warning upon her shoulder. He raised a paw dripping with paint-like Fantasy mana, preparing to deal with the threat.

She whispered to him and he reluctantly stayed his mighty paw. For now. The soul aeder’s patience had long since worn thin.

“Miranda, where are you going?” The Count demanded, barring her way. While he was not a short man, he had never compared to her towering height. While she had not fully recovered, he was still no comparison.

“Enough, husband!” she roared. “Ever since I returned, you have been acting ever the fool. Clearly, you have taken leave of your senses.”

An unsightly vein bulged by his widow’s peak, which was quite the feat for a vampyr whose heart beats were usually measured on a calendar instead of a watch.

If that upset him, that was nothing compared to what she said next.

“I think time apart will do us both some good. Husband, you must work on your issues, and I am frankly being stifled here. Not just by you, but by all our subjects. They no longer fear me. I am not some workhorse!”

“I must be disreputable,” Sose whispered with a sniffle.

She lifted Sose up off her shoulder. “And they think Sose is cute and cuddly! This will not do. I make for Taamra village tonight.”

The Count stared, thunderstruck. “You’re going to him, aren’t you?”

The Countess stared, completely at a loss. “What are you blathering about?”

He seemed to sweat. Actually sweat. She did not even know that was possible for a vampyr to do.

“Do not play coy with me, Miranda!” the Count bellowed. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a fistful of letters. He waved them angrily in her face. “He has been writing to you every single day! He worries for you! It is unsightly.”

Before he knew what had happened, Miranda swiped the letters from his fist and Sose began weaving Fantasy mana behind the Count.

Miranda struggled to believe her eyes.

“These are from Shrubley. There must be nearly a dozen!” Anger, embarrassment, shame, and betrayal warred within her in equal measure.

She had thought Shrubley forgot about her. Went and played as the hero and preferred it without the Countess around… but he had cared. He sent her letter after letter even when she didn’t reply.

“How could you lie to Miranda?” Sose demanded on her behalf, giving the Count his last chance. “Have you no shame?”

The Count made a swipe for the letters, which was the last mistake he ever made.

Before Miranda could do anything, Sose triggered the Fantasy mana behind the vampyr. His proud, stately face contorted, pained, and constipated. There was an elongated stretching sound that echoed across the foyer as Sose worked his magic.

“You do not touch my Mistress!” Sose snarled. He lifted a glowing paw, and the Count began to rise, levitating off the tiled floor of the manor.

If the Count had something to say, Miranda never heard it because all he could do was squeak and moan as he turned slowly in place, a giant fist of Fantasy mana holding his underwear high above his head.

The Count wailed as Miranda walked out the front door as the Count suffered the dreaded [Atomic Wedgie].

For a while, they walked in silence among the gardens and hedgerows. It would be several hours before Sose’s Fantasy mana wore off, and that was if he didn’t provide it with a hefty dose of mana.

It was easy to forget that the little oppa was quite strong. As Miranda’s familiar, he shared in her powers. When Miranda was strong, Sose was strong, and when Miranda was weakened back in the mirror realm, so too was Sose.

In truth, she wasn’t ready to go out on her own.

A week was not enough time to recover from the rigors she had undergone, but she was determined more than ever to surpass the Limit of Steel.

It was a wall that all people eventually faced, no matter if they tried to attain greater power or not. The natural accrual of power ceased at Steel. Every milestone within the rank was harder and harder to come by, requiring increasingly more esoteric and unique circumstances to break through.

Even those who made it to High Steel were met with the greatest roadblock of all. Most people did not surpass it. The dedication it required was far too great. You would have to commit an entire lifetime to surpassing the limit, and even then there would be no guarantee.

Who wanted to live like that? Always seeking power, risking everything each time you tried to fight against an even stronger monster to push your stubborn body through that barrier.

More people died trying to surpass the Limit of Steel than made it through.

Even a vampyr was not immune to the stalling effects. Vampyrs, by and large, were able to draw power from multiple sources. The greatest of which was their lair.

Most monsters had this ability, but vampyrs could build a proper home with modern amenities instead of using a spooky cave somewhere.

As Miranda walked confidently through the mist-swirled night, sure that the worst thing lurking in the darkness was herself, she thought back to what Mistress Ceasewane had told her.

There were times when the best way to advance your own power and knowledge was to help those weaker than you.

It had seemed like so much ridiculous drivel at the time, but now Miranda was seeing the value in what her teacher tried to impart to her.

Already she could feel that her strength, once fully returned, would be at High Steel. Perhaps just a smidge beyond, which was something she had not seen nor felt in an age.

“Vampyrs are too set in their ways,” she muttered darkly to herself.

Sose gave her a whiskery kiss on the cheek, then snuggled up to rest and let her talk.

“Our lairs are sources of great power, but you’ve seen what can happen if somebody usurps it,” she continued. “And even if that doesn’t happen, we’re bound to one location. Never able to roam.”

“There is the pesky sun,” Sose pointed out, scratching himself with a back paw.

“Yes, there is that,” Miranda agreed.

The sun, though deadly to most vampyrs, ceased to be fatal around Iron. At Steel, Miranda could walk out in broad daylight, but the effects would severely blunt her strength.

By her own estimation, it knocked a full rank or more off her power. Turning her from High Steel to somewhere around Mid Iron.

Not a serious issue when vampyrs were immortal, but nobody wants to wait around for a few centuries until somebody spills blood on their ashes.

“It’ll be great fun to be on an adventure again,” Sose remarked. He seemed to be in high spirits. “Hope there’ll be sweet meats and candied bacon wherever we go.”

“We may have to go on our own,” she told him. “There is no telling if Shrubley is still here. He is not the sort to stay around in one area for long, I think. He gets that from his father, no doubt.”

He nodded. “That’s alright if we do. But you know those little monsters need us. Need you, really.”

Miranda could not remember the last time she left the Haalften lands apurpose. How many years since she traveled through the mountain pass to the Outer Ring? Too many.

Painful memories of her own fledgling adventuring party swirled in her mind, and she dismissed them like so many ghosts.

“We’ll have to start at the bottom again,” Miranda told Sose. “We’ll be… greenies.” She shivered.

Sose made a dramatic retching sound.

“I never thought I would see the day that a monster was invited to the Guild…” Miranda sighed. “But if Shrubley can do it, so can we.”

There were so many things she could see as possible now. Vampyrs, while not fully hated, were generally reviled by the populace.

It was hard to get along with somebody who could drink your blood and only managed to abstain out of a politeness.

They were, however, generally considered Awakened monsters like Shrubley, Cal, Slyrox, and even Smudge. Though, in truth, Miranda wasn’t so sure about the slime. Being able to make noises that approximated words wasn’t quite the same thing.

Oh, he was harmless enough, but he followed Shrubley like he was a lost puppy. Without the admittedly colossal influence of the soul shrub, would Smudge still be considered Awakened?

Greenies, Miranda thought with disgust. She had never dreamed about joining the Guild.

Had things been different all those years ago, Miranda could picture a future where she was invited to the very Grancastle of the Empire. But things had been different.

There were no monsters in the Guild back then. That was expressly against the spirit of the Adventurers Guild. Everybody knew that. They didn’t need a law because it was so obvious.

Obvious to all but a little shrub with a big dream.

Despite Taamra’s border town status, it would send ripples of change all the way to the beating heart of the Grancastle itself.

She intended to be on that wave when it reached the Empire’s center.

Now she was not only going to join, but demand that they allow her if they refused. With all the people signing up, she hoped they would not force her to play that hand. Being an oppa, Sose could be plenty convincing if she needed him.

She would no doubt have to prove herself with some silly little contract, but it would be easy for her to do. An hour tops. Even if Shrubley was gone, she would have plenty of time to pick up his trail and follow him.

Even if he had reached High Copper, she was several times faster than him. At least until the sun came out, and they were close to her manor.

Once the sun was riding high and they were far away from the manor, Miranda didn’t want to think about how weakened she would be.

Still stronger by far than Shrubley, of course. Of that, she had no doubt whatsoever. But how far would she fall when she could no longer tap on the manor’s power?

Despite herself, she was excited to find out. The thrill of adventure awaited, and it all began with a little stupid shrub who wanted to do the impossible and be a hero.

He has found a way into my heart, though not the way my stupid husband believes, Miranda thought to herself.

“Where will we go?” Sose asked as the newly built wall of Taamra reared up out of the dark.

“At first, we will need to leave these lands,” Miranda told him, reaching a hand up to her shoulder to pet him. “Then we will need to locate essences for the others. Though they are easier to find on the road, they will still prove a major hurdle unless our luck holds. I could buy them, but that would spoil the point, I think.”

Sose nodded. “And then?”

Miranda’s eyes glinted in the dark. “To Pandaemonium.”