Chương 133: Chapter 24: Iron and Mana - Part I

The familiar noise of the Adventurer's Guild closes around us as soon as we step through the door. Conversations continue at the tables scattered across the main hall, boots scrape against the wooden floor, and somewhere behind the counter a clerk calls out the details of a completed contract, all of it blending into the ordinary rhythm of the Guild. For a moment, I simply stand there with Gale beside me and take it in.

Nothing outside that small room has changed, yet Gale has, and the difference is difficult to ignore when he is standing nearly beside me instead of being little more than a shadow around my legs. A few adventurers notice him almost immediately. Some stare openly. Others glance once before looking away, pretending they were never interested in the first place. Gale seems unconcerned by any of it. He walks at my side without needing to be called, his movements considerably more deliberate than they were before.

His body is still unfamiliar enough that he occasionally adjusts the position of one paw before putting his weight down, but the awkwardness is already less noticeable. The extra height gives him a different view of the room, and he seems to be taking advantage of it, his ears turning toward every unfamiliar sound while his eyes move calmly across the Guild. Darran walks beside us, the appraisal results still folded in his hand.

"You've got a problem," he says. I glance at him.

"With Gale?"

"No, not with him but you." I look at him for a moment before following his gaze toward the Hollowmane.

"That's reassuring." Darran gives me a dry smile.

"You have an adolescent magical beast with Iron-level measurements across almost everything, Silver agility, a High Wind affinity, and a stronger Lightning affinity than he had before. If you were hoping today would make your life simpler, I'm afraid you've been disappointed."

"I wasn't expecting that."

"You should have been." I let out a quiet breath that is almost a laugh.

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?"

"That depends on what you intend to do with him." The question makes me slow slightly. Gale notices and stops as well, turning his head toward us. I look down at him, then back at Darran. There is no reason to pretend I have not already considered the answer.

"I want him trained." Darran nods.

"That much is for sure. But do you want him trained for combat?"

"If he's willing." Gale's ears twitch. Darran notices.

"I think you can probably leave that part to him." I look at Gale again. He is watching me with the same patient attention he has shown throughout our conversation, and when I start walking again, he follows without hesitation.

"He'll need to learn what his body can do first," I say.

"His proportions have changed too much for him to simply rely on what he knew before. His balance is different, his reach is different, and his movements carry more weight now. If he doesn't adjust to that, the extra strength won't help him much." Darran's expression becomes more serious.

"That's the right place to start. People make the mistake of thinking that stronger means better but it rarely does. Stronger only means that mistakes become more expensive." I nod.

"I've seen adventurers with more strength than sense," he continues.

"They swing harder than they need to, move faster than they can control, and rely on their bodies to compensate for poor technique. It works right up until someone stronger or faster comes along."

"Gale isn't going to fight like a person."

"No, but the principle still applies." We reach the edge of the main hall, and I pause near one of the quieter tables. Gale settles beside me, lowering himself onto the floor with considerably more care than before. His larger body takes up enough space that two nearby chairs suddenly look much smaller than they did earlier. Darran pulls out the appraisal sheet and unfolds it again.

"Look at his stats," he says, "That's not a bad combination for a creature built the way he is."

"What do you think he'll be good at?"

"Mobility, mainly." The answer comes quickly enough that I look at him.

"His body is compact enough that he can change direction quickly, and his Wind affinity should help with movement once he learns to work with it rather than simply allowing it to strengthen his natural instincts. The Lightning is more interesting, though."

"Because it's still developing."

"Exactly. His Lightning affinity was Low before. Now it's Moderate. We don't know yet how much of that will translate into actual combat ability." I look at Gale's paws. As if summoned by the conversation, a faint spark flickers between his claws. He notices it, watches it for a second, then flexes his paw until it disappears. Darran smiles faintly.

"He's already experimenting." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"He's curious."

"That can be useful quality to have."

"It can also get him into trouble."

"That's why you're going to train him." I give Darran a look. He simply shrugs. I cannot argue with him. Gale's curiosity has always been part of his nature, but what was harmless when he was smaller may not remain harmless now. A burst of Lightning from an inexperienced creature could injure an ally just as easily as an enemy. Even his physical strength presents the same problem. If he misjudges how much force he is using, something as simple as a playful movement could become dangerous.

"We'll start with control," I say.

"Movement, strength, then Lightning." Darran nods.

"And fighting?"

"It all comes after that."

"Good." He folds the appraisal sheet again.

"Don't make the mistake of teaching him techniques before he understands himself. Magical beasts don't always fight the way humans do. If you try to force him into a human fighting style, you'll probably end up making him slower."

"I wasn't planning to teach him swordsmanship."

"I know." I glance at Darran.

"Then why say it?"

"Because I've watched enough adventurers try to turn every companion into a smaller version of themselves." I smile.

"And you think I would do that?"

"No." There is enough certainty in his answer that I raise an eyebrow.

"You're a druid," he says.

"You've spent too much time learning how different creatures move to make that mistake." I look toward Gale again. He has shifted slightly and is now watching the adventurers moving through the Guild. His attention follows one of them for a few seconds before returning to me. There is something different about the way he observes the world now. The change is subtle, but I can feel it.

His senses seem sharper, his posture more deliberate, and there is a quiet confidence beneath his movements that had not been there when he was a cub. Darran follows my gaze.

"He'll probably develop his own fighting style."

"That was what I was thinking."

"Then let him." I nod. For a while, neither of us speaks. The Guild continues around us, and the strange thing is how quickly Gale is becoming part of that environment. The first time he came here, he drew attention because he was unusual. Now he draws attention because he is large enough that people cannot easily ignore him, but there is less uncertainty in the looks he receives. He is not some strange creature that has wandered into the city anymore.

He is an adventurer's companion, and judging from the way a few people keep looking at him, some are already wondering what he can do. Darran breaks the silence, "If you take him on contracts, people are going to judge his strength before they know anything about him."

"They already do that with adventurers."

"True, but with a magical beast they'll be watching for different reasons. Some will want him because he's powerful. Others will be afraid of him. A few will probably assume he's easier to deal with than a person." I glance down at Gale, "They'll learn." Darran laughs quietly.

"I imagine they will." He reaches into his coat and takes out a small notebook, flipping through several pages before stopping.

"There's another thing you should consider."

"What?"

"Your equipment." My hand moves instinctively toward the scabbard at my side. Darran notices.

"Not the scabbard," he says.

"Your equipment in general." I look down at myself. My gear has never felt particularly inadequate. It has served me through the forest, through fights with Rasks, bandits, and Veyrakh, and through situations where surviving mattered more than looking properly equipped. But Darran is not looking at it as someone examining whether it has kept me alive. He is looking at it as someone considering whether it will continue to do so.

"You're Iron-ranked now," he says.

"That changes the kind of contracts available to you."

"I know."

"And the kind of things you'll be fighting."

"I know that too."

"Then you should also know that your current equipment was never built around the sort of work you're starting to take." I look at Nemain's scabbard again. Darran shakes his head.

"I'm not talking about that cursed blade of yours."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Everything around it." I wait. He studies me for a moment before continuing.

"Your sword is unusual enough that I wouldn't recommend changing anything about the scabbard without understanding exactly what it can do. But your armor, your secondary weapons, your protection against elemental attacks, even how you carry supplies could all be improved."

"I've managed so far."

"So far isn't the same as forever." His answer is simple enough that I have nothing to say to it. Darran closes the notebook.

"You've spent most of your time operating in the wilderness. That makes improvisation useful. But you're moving into a different stage now. You're taking stronger contracts, the Guild knows what you can do, and sooner or later you're going to encounter opponents who are prepared for someone with your abilities." I lean against the table and fold my arms.

"You think my equipment is holding me back?"

"I think your equipment isn't keeping pace with you." That is harder to dismiss. I glance toward Gale. He is still watching the room, apparently unaware that the conversation has shifted from him to me. Darran continues before I can answer.

"And there is another reason."

"Gale?" He nods.

"If you're going to fight alongside him, you need to think about how the two of you interact in combat." I straighten.

"Your positioning matters," Darran says.

"If he's faster than you, he'll naturally move ahead. If he uses Wind to increase his mobility and Lightning for attacks, you'll need to know where he is before you commit to your own attack. The same applies to him. He needs to learn where you are and how you move."

"So, we train together."

"Yes." The answer comes immediately.

"Not just separately. Together. Let him learn your habits, and you learn his. You already know how he behaves, but his new body will change that. His instincts may remain the same, but the way those instincts express themselves won't." I look at Gale again. He turns his head toward me at that exact moment. There is no hesitation in his gaze. I smile faintly.

"He'll learn." Darran nods.

"Good. Then we can start thinking about your equipment." I sigh. Darran's smile widens.

"You knew that was coming."

"I was hoping you had forgotten."

"I didn't." He gestures toward the entrance with his chin.

"There's an armorer near the eastern market who works with adventurers. His work is not cheap, but reliable. If you explain what you need, he can make adjustments rather than simply selling you whatever happens to be hanging on a wall." I consider the suggestion. An armorer. The thought is not particularly appealing. I have never cared much about appearances or finely made equipment. If something protects me and does not interfere with my movements, that has always been enough. But Darran is right about one thing.

Enough is beginning to mean something different. My rank has changed. My responsibilities have changed. The dangers surrounding the Grove will become more complicated, and the people who know about it are no longer limited to those living within its walls. I cannot keep assuming that whatever worked yesterday will be sufficient tomorrow.

"And what exactly do you think I need?" I ask. Darran looks me over from head to toe, "That's a longer conversation." I groan and he laughs.

"You asked."

"I regret it already."

"You'll regret it more when something breaks your armor because you refused to replace it." I glance down at Gale, who has now decided that the conversation is boring and is inspecting his claws again.

"At least one of us is enjoying himself." Darran follows my gaze and shakes his head.

"Don't worry. You'll both have plenty to learn." I look back toward the Guild's entrance and then at the equipment hanging from my belt. For the first time, I start considering my gear not as something I carry, but as part of how I intend to fight. And if Gale is going to learn how to fight beside me, then I suppose it is time I learned how to make sure I can keep up with him.