Chương 37: Maelle's First Quest

Maelle was excited to be embarking on her first quest. Adventuring was dangerous work and restricted to those who'd come of age for soldiering. But she never knew it was so profitable. Ten silvers for a couple of hours' work? Before the palace coup, she wouldn't have understood how much money that was, but after weeks of living on the run, she now knew that it was enough to buy five hundred baked flatbreads topped with cheese, tomato sauce, and sausages (Marina always supplied the sausages seperately.).

She was going to be rich again! And it was all thanks to Virdis. On his way out to find Marina, he must have stopped by and bribed the guildmaster to make an exception for her, allowing her to register as an adventurer with a fake name while also being underage. The anticipation made her want to get to the hills faster by flying. But it wouldn't be wise to manifest her wings unnecessarily. You never knew who might be watching. The road west of the city was well maintained.

It took her past a stable, some farm plots, a windmill, and then a well-manicured forest that stretched on for about a mile. At some point along that stretch, a paved road cut a long path through the forest, leading to an iron gate guarded by two big men with spears. This was the Dabaux estate that the guildmaster had told her about. Being a responsible person, she'd already dropped Boots back off at the inn.

There was no reason to bring a cat into battle, and if anything were to happen to him, she'd be kicked out of the party for sure. The point of becoming an adventurer was so that she could stick around with Havlo, who was almost as strong as Marina. Maelle continued past the Dabaux estate until the forest gave way to grassy hills. The grove was supposed to be somewhere in there. After climbing to the top of the first hill, she took a moment to look around. The green field was interspersed with small white flowers.

From her picture books, hand-drawn by the best-traveled Draegorian explorers, she would expect to see sheep grazing in this grass. But there weren't any to be seen. Looking back at how far she'd come from the road, and judging the distance from what she recalled of the guildmaster's map, she estimated that there were another three hills like this one before she'd get to the grove. Even so she didn't rush her way up the second hill. She tried to imagine what Marina would tell her in this situation.

It would probably involve being careful and to expect the unexpected. The guildmaster had been worried about the monster approaching the road, so there was every chance she'd coule face-to-face with it over the very next crest. She prepared herself with a [Shield]. And that was all she could do because she was only at Tier 2. At the top of the second hill she spotted a monster down below. It looked like a giant insect of some sort, scurrying about on its many legs.

Its abdomen was all covered with fur, which in her estimation made it very bearlike, as bears were known to have lots of fur. While it didn't have a tail, it didn't have any pincers either. Since the guildmaster said that the witnesses had been all confused, this seemed like a close-enough match. She'd found the monster! When she pointed at it and prepared her spell, the creature must have spotted her with one of its many eyes, as it spun toward her and began its creepy chittering.

She elevated her [Firebolt] to Tier 2 and, after carefully checking her aim, fired it off with a shout, hoping to finish the battle on the very first shot. To her dismay the creature stepped nimbly out of the way, and her [Firebolt] only managed to burn up a patch of grass where it had been standing.

"How can something with so many legs not stumble all over itself?" she complained. She expected a dangerous monster to come charging at her after such a provocation, but instead it turned its back on her. It actually turned its back on her! And then it started wagging its bottom. She felt her cheeks flush. The gall of the creature, to moon her, a princess! And then a sticky white substance shot out from its behind. As it flew toward her, the substance spread out into a sort of net.

Maelle didn't react in time as she'd let her guard down at the bottom-wagging, and the net came down around her. The substance turned out to be a sticky solid—some sort of web. She looked up at the sound of more chittering and found the creature staring at her, its mandibles clacking together hungrily. Then it charged. In a panic she shot off [Firebolt] after [Firebolt], not taking the time to elevate the spell, nor to aim or do anything else.

The only thought on her mind—the only thought she had time for—was to get it before it got her. The nimble creature dodged every single one. The only thing really slowing it down was having to climb uphill. But that didn't do her much good if she was rooted to the spot. Then she noticed with her clumsy spellcasting that the web was melting around her hands. It was weak to fire! She broke off from her attacks to hold a [Firebolt] on her fingertips and brushed it along the web to free herself.

The monster was almost upon her, and it lunged across the final distance. She managed to roll beneath it just in time, and as she did, her fingers brushed up against the creature's underbelly. It uttered a high-pitched squeal and spun to face her once again. Only this time her finger was in its face, and this range it had no time to dodge. Her elevated [Firebolt] struck it square in the jaw. With the addition of a dragonkin's innate fire proficiency, the effect was especially potent.

The creature's fur caught on fire, and as the fire spread down to its abdomen, where the flammable sticky substance was stored, it flared up like a bottle of cooking oil, and within moments the monster was reduced to a charred shadow on the ground. Maelle took a moment to compose herself. That had been a close call. But it had been entirely her fault. Marina would scold her for losing focus like that. Otherwise it was an easy job, just as the guildmaster had promised.

But then she remembered that he'd asked her to bring back proof. She crouched down and grabbed at one of the legs. It crumbled in her hands. What was she meant to do now? As she looked about for something she could take with her, something else caught her notice. She stood up and pointed at each leg as she counted. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Eight. It had eight legs. The guildmaster said it would have six.

It could just be that the witnesses miscounted in their panic. What was the difference between six and eight anyway? And they'd also gotten the thing about the tail wrong too. She decided that the only way to complete this job properly was to check that the grove was clear. Maelle climbed to the top of the third hill and, seeing that the coast was clear, carefully made her way up the fourth one. From there it flattened out, and she could see the grove a couple of hundred yards away.

Resting among the trees was a monster, larger than the one she'd just faced. That monster, despite its size, had seemed light and nimble. This one looked like it was solid muscle. Was this really a silver-rank threat? She circled around to look at it from a different angle and saw the scorpion's tail. Scorpions were one of the few land monsters she was well versed in because they featured heavily in Draegorian history.

Every dragonkin child grew up learning about the Great Scorpion War wherein the full complement of Draegorian Guards fought to drive away the thousands of giant scorpions that had infested the Salo-Rancho Desert. For three days and three nights the six greatest warriors in the empire conducted an aerial bombardment until they were completely drained of mana. In the end it turned out that they'd completely underestimated the enemy, who had persevered due to sheer strength in numbers.

This was before Marina's time, of course, or else the Draegorian warriors wouldn't have lost. It was considered the most one-sided defeat in imperial history, and the lesson was passed on to every successive generation of children about the folly of war. For it was possible to suffer no casualties and lose. Maelle's favorite part of those books had been the illustrations, and it was thanks to those that she knew what a scorpion was supposed to look like. And this monster was no scorpion.

Besides the tail, it had nothing else right. For a start, it only had six legs. It also had a lot of fur all over its body. This could make it a bear, she supposed, since bears also had fur, and she wasn't an expert on how many legs they were supposed to have. Once more Maelle laid a [Shield] on herself before deciding her approach. Besides the [Firebolt], she had another attack spell at her disposal, which was [Air Strike], which she never used much.

There was just something about fire that filled her belly with warmth. She had other spells of course, but none of them were important here. During the walk she'd had some time to reflect on her previous battle, and it made her realize that [Air Strike] might have worked out better than [Firebolts]. Since the spell was almost invisible, the creature might not have been able to evade it so easily. The downside was that it took her longer to cast.

She would have to experiment to see which way worked better in practice. Even if she was inclined to use [Air Strike] against this new monster, it looked too big and heavy for the spell to have much effect. Particularly being a Tier 2 spell already, she wouldn't be able to elevate it, and the regular effect might only push the creature around a little bit. This left her with only [Firebolt] as an offensive option. The question was whether she should bother elevating her first strike to Tier 2.

It would do more damage but would also consume much more mana. Would she have enough left in reserve to guarantee a kill? She decided to go with the straightforward approach. When in doubt, overwhelm the enemy with firepower. She pointed a finger at the bear and, taking an extra moment to aim, shouted, "[Firebolt!]" She followed up a constant stream of [Firebolts], as fast as she could pull the mana.

The bear perked up from its slumber at the sound of her voice, and had turned to her when the first of the spells hit. It let out a mighty roar that shook the birds from the trees. And then it bounded her way. [Firebolt] after [Firebolt] smacked it in the face. Yet it just kept on coming. She switched up her tactics, taking a little extra time to elevate the next shot to Tier 2. The spell pierced through the air and smacked the bear right on the snout. The bear didn't even slow down.

That was the most powerful offensive spell she had. Maelle turned tail and ran. But the bear was so fast, and she wasn't a good runner. She had no other choice. She manifested her wings and took off into the sky.

Kitten had picked up a Pet. Boots liked Kitten's new Pet. Kitten had been spending time teaching her how to treat him properly, and the Pet was a fast learner. She even let him ride on her shoulder when she walked through the city today. And then when she dropped him back at the room and went to leave, she'd conveniently left the window open for him. Deciding that it was an invitation to a tracking game, he gave her a head start before climbing through the window and going in search of her scent trail.

The Pet was a tricky one, as she even went so far as to leave the city entirely. But he had centuries of experience in tracking and wasn't going to be thrown off so easily. He followed her trail along a road, and he knew he was getting closer as the scent became clearer. Then he saw her walking up ahead, completely oblivious to how she was being tailed. This just wouldn't do. She was going to take a lot of training. He decided to keep a watch from afar, curious about what hiding place she had in mind.

Knowing how she thought would help him win in future games. When she arrived at some hills, she climbed to the top. An odd decision. He followed along in the adjacent forest until the hills obscured her from his sight. Then he heard her cry and came running to help. But when he arrived, she had already won. He could tell from the scent that it was a giant spider, and a very weak one. Not even worth the effort to sharpen his claws. Quietly he snuck back into the forest. That was when he picked up a different trail.

This one was odd. It was like three or four animals traveling together. Ones who didn't belong and never got along. He followed it along the forest and found it leading into the hills, further in from where the Pet was, but in the direction she was headed. Feeling anxious, he grew himself up into his mountain lion form. Then he heard the shout.

"Firebolt!" Kitten's Pet was in danger! He bounded up over the hill as fast as his legs could carry, and saw the Pet shooting off a rapid stream of spells. But when he saw the creature charging toward her, he knew those firebolts would be like flies to the beast—a nuisance, nothing more. Pet seemed to realize she'd become the prey, and she ran. But two legs were clumsy and slow, she would never get away. He closed in as fast as he could, but it was still too far.

So he burned some essence and charged up one of his own attacks. Before he could get it off, the Pet sprouted wings out of nowhere and, with one flap and then two, lifted up off the ground. The beast swiped at her, but it only caught her magical shield, shattering it with its claws, thick and sharp like a grizzly bear's. Then it turned and saw him. Frustrated that its prey got away, and thinking it had found a new target, it charged. If only it knew the truth, it would have fled.

It would have wished for wings like the Pet's, for on the ground there was no escape from him, and even in the air, one could only fly so far. Boots sharpened his claws, burned a little essence to bulk himself up, and met the beast's charge with his own.

Maelle decided that she was going to train up before taking on another quest. As royalty, she was used to being flattered by the people around her. She'd thought that the Draegorian Guard was beyond the need for that, but maybe that was only Marina. But now she understood that when Virdis had said that she was silver level, that might have been an exaggeration. She was keen to get home and read that book he'd given her. If Tier 2 wasn't good enough, she was going to have to become Tier 3.

She also decided that she was going to stay away from those hills for a while. She hadn't even realized there was a second beast until she turned around and saw the bear in battle. What was even scarier was how easily the second one had won. Then it started eating, and that was when she decided she'd had enough. She landed what she hoped was a safe distance away and unmanifested her wings. She was too close to the city to risk flying for long.

Her biggest regret was that now she wouldn't be able to get those ten silvers in reward money. She was so lost in her thoughts—about the money and her mistakes and how hard she was going to train—that she didn't notice she was walking past the Dabaux estate. Walking down the side path were two people deep in conversation, and they too weren't paying attention to the road. Where the two roads joined, there was a collision and Maelle was knocked to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, kid." The man who'd bumped into her scowled while brushing at his clothes where they'd made contact.

"Sorry." Maelle picked herself up and dusted off her cloak.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the man asked, eyeing her critically. He was dressed like a merchant, but his clothes were of a fine quality that would make even a noble jealous.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go." She tried to hurry past but the man's companion, a woman in mage's robes, grabbed her arm.

"You stay when the young Mister Dabaux is speaking to you." She didn't know if it was because she was still antsy after the battle she'd just had, or if it had to do with the woman's heavy mana presence, or if the panic that took control of her body was the result of her recent experiences being taken captive, but her tail whipped around on its own, the tip sharpening to a point, and jabbed at the hand restraining her. The woman let out a cry, and Maelle bolted toward the city without looking back.