The room of the tent we are in has a thick, elegantly embroidered rug on the floor under a table made of black wood with gold streaks running through it. Morah walks to the other side of it and sits down in the only chair, with her brother joining her, standing to the side. The black-haired woman opens a sealed letter that was already on the desk before reading it and then handing it to Merrick, who also reads it.
Morah has a contemplative look on her face while she looks at us, saying, “I just received some interesting news you all may want to hear. Initiates have been popping up all over the island of First Landing, and this time four races are being initiated at once.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, unsure of why that matters. “Is it not usual for multiple races to be initiated together?”
Morah shakes her head while looking at me, fingers interlaced in front of her. “Normally only one race is initiated at a time, as only a single planet is chosen. However, it seems things have changed this time, as four planets are all being initiated together.” Her brother finishes reading the letter, making it disappear when he’s done.
“Well, that makes things more interesting, at least.” Merrick says. “Changes nothing, though.” Morah nods at that.
“My brother is right. It changes nothing. Stella will still be going to Barad, where the other initiates already are, unless you have changed your mind.” She asks in Stella’s direction.
Stella shakes her head and replies, “No, I still want to study healing at the hospital you mentioned.”
“Good, Doctor Hari should be more than willing to take you on as an apprentice, especially if you tell her the names of your skills.” Morah explains with a straight face, turning to Daniel and me when she is done. “Elsine should have informed you of all of your options. Have you made a choice yet? If you choose to follow the others to Barad, House Baradia will ensure you get the best training and tutoring we can offer. We could even—”
Merrick interrupts his sister with a hand on her shoulder, “Woah, let them hear my offer before you entice them with wicked dreams, woman.” He walks around the table and sits on the edge, completely blocking his sister from our view. “My offer is far better. I can guarantee it.”
“Let’s hear it then.” I sigh, looking over at a visibly excited Daniel.
I’m pretty sure he could say he plans to strip us naked and throw us to another goblin tribe, and Daniel would still agree to it.
“Well, it’s pretty simple. I would take both of you, leave this camp, and when we return you will be the strongest initiates on the island, I guarantee it.” He informs us with a smug confidence, lips parting to show his void-black teeth. “As long as you survive, of course.”
“I’m in!” Daniel shouts before his future tormentor has even finished talking.
Is this what I want? Can he really guarantee that?
I step to the side, gaining a view of the expedition camp leader, sitting like a CEO in their office. “Morah, do you think he can really make us the strongest initiates?” I ask her, ignoring Merrick grabbing his chest and acting like I have stabbed it.
“Yes.” She replies instantly. “It’s a pretty low bar right now, and as much as it pains me to admit, Merrick is very good at what he does.” She shakes her head as she says this, a look of slight disbelief on her face, as if she can’t believe she is telling us this. “You will not find another instructor who can teach you to survive as well as he does, kill as well as he does, or push you as hard as he does. If you can keep up with what he’ll throw at you, you will be strong.”
I nod my head. “I’m with Merrick, then.”
I hope this isn’t a huge mistake, but who knows what this place will put me up against? It’s better to bite the bullet now. Especially since Merrick is so enthusiastic, I’m sure he has some good ideas.
Merrick stands up from the desk and walks right past us. “Good news, disciples! You get one day of rest before we start. I will find you later, so go explore for now.” He says as he strides out of the tent, never once turning around as he rubs his hands together with a mischievous smile on his face.
Daniel and I are left looking at a very annoyed Morah. “He was supposed to get you both tents and probably show you around the place. Daniel, can you do it? You can keep using the same tent.”
“Sure, are we cleared to get supplies from the quartermaster?”
“Take anything you want. Quartermaster Rayke should know what we have if you want weapons or armor. He probably won’t give you anything enchanted, though.”
“I’ll show you the way,” Daniel says to me as he turns and leaves the tent. "You'll like the quartermaster. He's an interesting fella."
Daniel takes me on a short tour of the camp, showing where to get hot cooked meals, where the latrines are, and finally, to our abode for the night. The tent is decent, clearly made of a thick canvas and for three people, so it has some extra space with just the two of us. Most people around the camp give us looks of interest, like we’re some kind of oddity, but don’t approach us.
I guess we are an oddity. Am I technically an alien here? I am from another planet entirely. Just more weird shit this planet throws at us.
“Well, what to do now? We have the rest of the day to ourselves.” I ask Daniel as we leave the tent.
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He shrugs, saying, “First, let’s get some sleeping bags from the storage tent, and some dried food, and maybe flasks if they have them.”
He’s clearly excited about the upcoming training with Merrick. Should I get some armor too? I don’t want to wear anything bulky, and I’d rather be able to dodge hits than tank them. I’m a space mage! I need to get good at dodging. Teleporting is technically dodging, right?
Walking up to the supply tent, I notice it’s the same tent that the blue draconian man from earlier was working outside of, but the grindstone is now unattended. This tent is probably the second largest of them all, just a little bit smaller than Morah’s command tent. We enter to find a wooden table in front of us with the blue-scaled man sitting behind it, polishing a handaxe.
He has a face like a lizard, for lack of a better term, with no nose but a snout that has two small holes on it above his wide mouth. His irises are black with glowing blue pupils, shaped like a cross. Behind him are shelves, barrels, and crates filled with all manner of supplies: weapons, armor, clothes, building materials, and even what looked like cages are stored back there.
As soon as we enter, the reptilian man looks up at us, his gaze settling on Daniel. “Daniel! How good to see your mission went well, and you even brought a friend! What can I do for you?” He says with a cheery attitude and kind eyes, putting the axe to the side. His voice is higher pitched than I expected and slightly raspy.
Daniel gives the dragon man a friendly smile before pointing at me. “It’s good to see you too, Quartermaster Rayke. We need some basic supplies: food, water, booze, clothes, and sleeping rolls, please. Also, Ray here is looking for a sword to replace his spear.” He tells the quartermaster as he steps up to the table.
The quartermaster turns to inspect me with his glowing blue eyes. I do not feel any mana this time, so he must not be using a skill like Halon did. “Do you have any preference in the style? I don’t have anything enchanted, but the steel is the best quality you can find on First Landing, I can guarantee it.” He says as he lays several swords on the table from behind him. They are all simple but well made.
The first one I pick up is a two-handed longsword, and after swinging it around a few times, I put it back down. Too long. I want something to use in one hand that I can also get some good leverage with if I need to.Next up is a bastard sword. Stepping back to give it a few test swings tells me that it is much closer to what I want. “I like this one. Do you have a scabbard for it?”
The sword is nearly three and a half feet long with a fuller running most of the way along the blade and a simple leather-wrapped handle under a cross guard. The pommel is diamond-shaped and can be screwed off to disassemble the sword.
Rayke turns around and puts the other swords away, asking over his shoulder, “Yeah, are you going to keep that spear? I can take it from you if you aren’t.”
“All yours,” I tell him as I trade the rusty spear for the brand-new sword and scabbard, attaching it to my belt on the left hip. The quartermaster gives us the requested supplies next, and we store them in our packs. Daniel turns to leave, but I want to ask a few more questions of Rayke before we leave, as he seems like a good guy who will give honest answers.
I pull out the crystal from the shaman and the broken sword hilt and place them on the table between us.
“We got these from a goblin tribe’s loot room. Are they worth anything? I tried to examine the sword, but I couldn’t make out anything other than the channels that run through it.” I ask Rayke.
He picks up both items and studies them for a few seconds before placing the crystal back on the table and giving me a questioning look. “You were able to make out the mana channels in this?”
I nod, wondering if such a feat is impressive. Judging by the look on his face, he seems a little surprised.
“Interesting. Well, both items are pretty low quality, the gem because it’s small, and the sword because it’s broken. If I were to own a shop, I would buy them for maybe two to three gold coins. But this isn’t a shop, and I don't buy or sell here, so I have a different offer for you, if you want to hear it.” I nod again, gesturing for him to continue.
“I will take the sword, as it still has some valuable metals in the hilt, and the gem can be repurposed. In exchange I will engrave into your crystal some basics on creating magic items, a primer if you will.”
Creating magic items? That sounds… difficult. But it also sounds fun. Will I be able to make an extradimensional storage item? Or some kind of teleportation array? This is too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“Okay, I’m in. But why? Do you offer enchanting lessons to all initiates?"
“No, not at all. The other initiates besides you two are kind of… scared of me. I tried to talk to them, but they all wanted nothing to do with me, not that I hold it against them. You all are going through a lot, I’m sure. But you, Ray, might have a talent for it. Not many people are able to see the mana channels of an item. They just use them and call it good. And any good mage should be able to create at least simple magic items.”
That makes sense, I guess. And I won’t say no to free information, especially not from someone who seems like a professional at this. Maybe I’ll be able to create some sword that can cut through space itself or something insane like that once I get powerful enough.
“Well, I should have the crystal ready by tomorrow morning, if you want to swing by then to grab it. But if that’s all, I have a lot of work to get back to.” He says to us, having just given himself more to do.
“One last question,” I say, which he nods to.
“Are you related to dragons? Where we come from, there are only humans, so I don’t really know anything about the other races of Helot, and I don’t want to be rude.”
The jolly quartermaster lets out a loud laugh, walking to the other side of the table to stand next to me. He’s short, maybe five feet tall, but quite imposing with his glowing eyes and large teeth that show when he talks or smiles. “Haha, it’s not rude at all. I’m afraid I’ve been the rude one.” He says as he gives me a slight bow. “Quartermaster Rayke, at your service.”
“Ray, nice to meet you.”
“And to answer your dragon question, it’s hotly debated among my people, the Ralgest, but the general consensus is that we are not descended from dragons directly, but lesser wyrms that are descended from dragons. But some people will claim that they are and will challenge you if you dare question them on it. They tend to be few and far between, though, and are usually members of a dragon cult.”
“What's a dragon cult?” Daniel asks before I can.
Rayke sighs, looking down and slowly shaking his head. “They are fanatics. They think that by worshipping dragons they might return and then grant their loyal followers boons and power. Bunch of loonies if you ask me. I wouldn’t want to be on the same island as a dragon, even if it were my grandpa. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?”
We both leave after getting our gear in preparation for tomorrow’s training. After eating a meal of warm stew and bread, we decide to spend the rest of the day training our skills, as there isn’t anything else to do. Halon shows up when I start swinging my sword aimlessly and teaches me some basic footwork and stances over the course of a few hours. Daniel spends his time trying to get better at his [Metal Manipulation] skill. Once I’m too physically tired to swing the sword anymore, I sit down and try to use his mana externally, but this time Halon offers to help me out.