Back to Yonder for Publication, page 7
Based upon what they knew, it even seemed reasonable.
The cowkin must have had Strength stats just north of one hundred, but not quite to their racial cap of 110. All they had really seen from me in our first round was speed which defied their ability to keep up. Truthfully, with as slow as both their species were, they probably couldn’t tell the difference between an Agility of 73 and 173.
What they weren’t expecting, though, was the degree of my physical prowess. Sadly—well, sadly for them—Agility was my second lowest stat, only being higher than the newly revealed Soul Stat. Strength, on the other hand, was my highest at 236 and Durability was my second highest at 230. Just like stats took a leap in value when they passed 100, I had discovered that the same thing happened again at 200.
In effect, I was at least four times as strong as they were—though closer to five times as strong. And that was before I applied any ki to enhance myself. With ki, I could triple my physical stats—at least for a short period of time.
It wasn’t necessary, though. The first cowkin came charging in and I let him hit me with his shoulder dropped to smash me in the gut. At least he didn’t try to gore me on his horns, as I would have had to treat that differently. I simply braced myself and stood there to take it.
Bless the physics of Olimero, because I was pushed back all of four inches by his nearly three-hundred-pound frame slamming into me with a level of force that would make any NFL coach drool. A slight shifting of my center of gravity was all that it took to redirect this force and send him flying into one of the orcs who was trying to flank me.
The second cowkin displayed a good level of teamwork. It was likely that they had expected the first one to fail, because his back up came at me fully squared up. His arms were spread wide, trying to wrap me up. I went with his motion this time which threw him off guard as I rocked backward. As I went down, I brought my feet up under his chest and launched him twenty feet past me. His durability was far beyond that of an Earth human, so I didn’t fear for his well-being. Rocking back on my frame, I’d kipped back to my feet long before he impacted with a pained grunt.
The first cowkin and the orc I’d thrown him into were still rolling away from me in a tangle of limbs. The second orc was a consummate professional because he brought his mace down on me, going for a blow that might have smashed the skull of a lesser man. I simply drove my arm up in a high block. With my Metallic Body skill, the shaft of his mace cracked, throwing his balance entirely off. Pivoting, I smoothly slid my shoulder under his outstretched arm and added a little twist of my hips to allow his own momentum to turn his feet up and head down before he crashed into the dirt.
I stepped back and watched as the four of them struggled to their feet with varying degrees of success. I waved them all off, signifying that this round was done, and said, “Good job. I needed a bit of exercise, but I’d be a poor instructor if I didn’t go through what each of you could improve on.”
They shook their heads in frustration, so I added, “If it matters to you, my Strength and Durability are well over 200 and my Agility is approaching that. You wouldn’t expect your son to feel bad if he fought with you and it ended up like this, would you?”
One by one, they shook their heads.
“Then don’t feel bad about this. I’m Sativa’s chosen, the Sheriff of Yonderton, and my stats are simply in a different league.”
I’d never told anyone my stats before, and while I was still being vague, it still felt a bit boastful. Maybe rumors would spread, though, and it would lead to a reputation which would serve to keep Yonderton more peaceful. If no one thought they had a chance against me, then no one would attempt to bring trouble to my town—at least that was my theory. Or maybe I should call it a hope, since a part of me said it was foolish.
I promised to replace the orc’s damaged mace and then took each of them, one by one, through ways they might have improved their actions. I was hardly a judo or jiu-jitsu master, as I had always preferred strikes to grappling, but being weaker than just about everyone when I’d arrived on Olimero had taught me the value of learning to redirect my opponent’s strengths.
I gave them each a few exercises to work on combining breathing, balance, and movement. These were all things that would help them out long-term. It certainly wouldn’t be an overnight fix. But I’d decided to take these four on as my pet project and see if I could drill some good habits into them. It would also help me with my own training.
When I finished with the four, I found Josie watching me. A little bit behind her, next to one of the wagons, I spotted Nimeera. The catgirl wasn’t exactly hiding, but she wasn’t out in the open.
I waved at her, “You might as well come out. I’m sure both of you have some input on what I did wrong.”
Nimeera shook her head. “I’m just in awe of what you’re capable of doing. But mostly, I was watching Josie with the guards she was training. She moves faster than should be possible—even for a foxkin. I can’t keep up, and I’ve been blessed or at least I used to be blessed by a god.”
“For what it’s worth, Josie is probably to Sativa what you were to Korkanis. That said, my foxkin deputy and second wife is pretty damn amazing. So, hit me Josie, what did I do wrong?”
She sighed. “I really just want to spend some time sparring with you. You are the only one who can push me to practice for the tournament. But since you asked… as your Mistress of the Wall, I’m upset that you let those buffoons get as close to you as they did. Accidents can happen to anyone, and you aren’t indestructible. But as a swordswoman and weapons instructor, I admire what you were teaching them.”
I grinned and replied, “My stats are beyond even yours, and I have other advantages—but somehow you still seem much more graceful than I am.”
“My father started teaching me his martial style of twin blades when I was hardly more than a toddler. I’ve gone through the forms and drills every single day since. It is a grace which has been hard earned and worked into my body.”
“Ah,” I nodded, “muscle memory. I guess that makes sense. My stats have been advancing too quickly for my body to adapt properly. I haven’t had enough time to develop good habits.”
“Then there’s no time like the present,” Josie said, an instant before she lunged at me with a bare blade.
I barely managed to get Bargon’s Slice out of my spatial pouch in time to parry her strike. But, then again, she probably had worked out the timing needed to push me to my max. We began a dance then, that lasted for the next hour.
Back on Earth, I’d heard it said that dancing was a vertical expression of a horizontal desire, but sparring with Josie was more erotic than any other time I’d danced with a woman. We went at each other with passion and the intent to seriously injure, but our strikes were always just barely deflected, dodged, or blocked.
The beautiful foxkin was truly a paragon of bladesmanship—a mastery which I couldn’t hope to match. I only managed to keep up with her by virtue of my raw stats. Even then, the longer we fought, the more she adapted to my speed and the more I was forced to channel small amounts of ki into my limbs to keep my stats ever increasing.
“You know I really hate that,” she said with a frown as she backed off, saluting me with her blade to signify the end of the bout.
I arched an eyebrow at her in confusion.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
This time, I shrugged and then laughed, “You give me more credit than I deserve.”
“What, so you aren’t doing that on purpose? You know, the thing you do, where I just barely manage to figure out how to deal with your speed and land a solid blow, but then magically, you are suddenly just a tiny bit faster? You always manage to adapt to stay just a step ahead of me—And I know it’s some cultivation thing you’re doing because I’m absolutely positive that I had pushed you to the limits of your speed up to that point.”
I laughed a bit louder. “Oh, that…”
Josie got a disgusted expression on her face, and rolled her eyes before looking over at Nimeera for support. Inwardly, I cheered. Her frustration with me was causing her to reach out to her nemesis.
“Can you believe him?! He says, ‘oh, that…’ like he isn’t completely cheating.”
Nimeera nodded, going along with it. “I thought you had him a couple of times— but then each time, he seemed to get faster. Is that what you mean by his cultivation thing?”
Josie’s face got red, like she realized she wasn’t supposed to talk about that outside of our inner circle. “Yeah, that. But… oh, never mind.”
The redhead looked back at me and said, “I better get you back to the tent before Lina sends someone looking for us. She’ll no doubt have dinner ready, and we still have to talk with Jasper about the plans for tonight’s guard duty.”
I nodded. “Of course, my fiery beauty. Lead the way.”
She looked at me sharply, as though trying to determine if I were teasing or not, but seemed satisfied by my straight face. She headed for the tent while grabbing Nimeera’s arm to drag her alongside.
Apparently, Josie didn’t want the catgirl standing too close to me while the redhead had her back turned to us.
Chapter 8 - A Shocking Contrast
Dinner was good as ever, but too short. To her credit, Josie continued to sit next to Nimeera. At least I gave her credit for trying—though I couldn’t really say if she was simply doing so to keep tabs on the cat-girl, or if she was doing as I had instructed and trying to get to know the woman.
I sighed. Managing a household with five wives was complex beyond anything I had ever imagined. Sometimes, it made running a town seem simple and that was after my wives took on almost all the external duties. All I really had to worry about was keeping them happy.
Just as I was finishing dinner, a messenger came and asked if I was ready to meet with Captain Jasper and Vemilla about caravan security. I stood and told the messenger to take me to them because I didn’t want our meeting to keep Robbie from getting to sleep.
I started to follow the man out, but when I noticed that Josie hadn’t gotten up, I signaled for the messenger to wait. Turning around, I looked at her. “Not coming, my Mistress of the Wall?”
She shook her head. “No, I think you’re mostly safe within the caravan.” Then she pursed her lips and said, “You know what, I’ll send Nimeera to watch your back. She may be many things, but I acknowledge that she is clever, aware of her surroundings, and good with a blade.”
Nimeera looked like she wasn’t sure what to do about the sudden compliment. Suspicion was written all over her face, but she still stood and bowed to Josie. “You won’t regret this, chief deputy. I’ll make sure he stays safe.”
Then, she turned to look at Lina. “That is, if I have permission from the chief clerk.”
My bunnygirl laughed and said, “Deputy, clerk… doesn’t much matter to me, as long as we all work together to take care of Rob. You know he would literally put his head inside a dragon’s mouth just to see if he could survive, so please keep an eye on him.”
All of the women laughed—including my three wives, Nimeera, and the two older girls Rava had hired who were setting up our tent. They were the daughters of one of the teamsters. Thankfully, Lina hadn’t started dropping any hints about them.
Seeing that it was decided, the cat-girl stood up to follow me.
I wasn’t sure exactly what Josie was up to, but I glanced at Rava. “You put this caravan together and have as much interest in its security as anyone, my Mistress of the Purse. Do you want to come to the meeting with me?”
Rava started to stand, but Josie grabbed her arm—the foxkin answering for her, “Sorry, husband, but we need to have a little meeting of our own. Don’t worry, your bed will be warm and waiting for you when you return.”
I glanced from woman to woman. I was pretty certain that neither Rava nor Lina were in on whatever it was that Josie was up to, but I figured I’d find out what it was—one way or another—soon enough.
I tipped my head and said, “Be well, my wives.” Then, Nimeera and I followed the messenger to Vemilla’s tent.
The lead teamster’s tent was larger than I expected, but we met outside it at the fire. She asked a number of teamsters who were there to leave so that we could talk. Once it was just the four of us, she said, “Jasper has told me your plan about going back to find Stan.”
She shook her head. “That is just insanity. You can’t put the safety of this caravan at stake for that of one man.”
Jasper frowned. The old orc warrior clearly didn’t like his people being dismissed like that by the foxkin, but he didn’t say anything. The dynamic between the guards and the drivers was interesting, and I didn’t yet have a full read on it.
I almost thought there might be something romantic going on between the two of them. Were that so, I still figured it was none of my business. It would make sense, given that both spent long spans of time out on the road, and often worked together.
“Saving our people is never foolish. Every man and woman who serves me should know that I don’t leave my people behind. If he can be saved, I’ll save him.” I narrowed my eyes at the lead teamster. “Trust is a two-way street, and if they know that I’ll fight for them, they’ll be more willing to fight for me.”
The foxkin glared at me for a moment before glancing at Jasper, as though waiting for him to speak up. When the orc did speak, however, it clearly wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“Is what the Sheriff is saying really all that bad? It isn’t like you or your drivers or the merchants have to get anywhere near these fairies. You can camp out here for a day while we search for Stan. Aren’t you always saying your drivers need longer breaks?”
The petite foxkin glared at Jasper. I knew I wouldn’t want to be him, later, but their relationship was their own business. I started to say that the issue wasn’t really up for debate, when I heard a bell ringing. That was a signal from one of the guards—there was a monster attack.
A part of me sighed. If it wasn’t one thing, it was always something else. But at my core, I had to admit I really was looking forward to a little action. Arguments, camp politics, and endless social banter left me yearning for the simplicity of combat.
“Vemilla,” I ordered, “get everyone gathered together at the center of the camp. Jasper, set up most of the guards to protect the civilians. Nimeera and I will go investigate the alarm. As soon as everyone else is safe, you can send us some help.”
Even as I shouted out my orders, I started running for where the bell had sounded. I began spinning up my core and stretching out my senses, but had yet to pick up any threats. I slowed my pace a bit so that Nimeera could keep up with me, and then reached out telepathically to my wives.
“Monster attack.”
Josie replied, “On my way.”
“Nope. Nimeera and I can help the guard with this. I’ll let you know if it’s anything you need to worry about. For now, I need you protecting Robbie and Lina.”
I could feel Josie’s dissatisfaction through our soul bond, but it was equally clear that she knew I was right. I added one more offering to make sure she wouldn’t worry too much. “Don’t worry, I won’t take any foolish risks.”
Nimeera. who I had included in the telepathic channel, added, “I won’t let him.”
It was hard to keep my night vision as we were running towards a bonfire which was set on the edge of the camp. I relied on my other senses. That worked well enough by this point though, as I could already hear the sounds of fighting.
Snarling beasts and the grunts of men combined with the sound of weapons impacting and armor rattling.
When we were even closer, my sense of touch had expanded enough that I was able to pick up the heat signatures of several bodies. Two guards were down, but neither were dead yet, just wounded. I kept expecting Nimeera to flash through the shadows, but when she didn’t, I realized that she couldn’t. Shit! I had forgotten she was still cursed. Of course, that was pretty much my fault. With a grunt, I put it out of my mind—for now.
Past the fire, I could now make out the scene with my eyes. Three more guards still stood, their spears holding back a trio of monsters. The creatures were vaguely humanoid, with twisted limbs. They were hairy, lumpy, and a shade of green. I’d call them closer to apes than men, but each was nearly six feet tall even stooped over.
Nimeera hissed, “Trolls… be careful. They have to be destroyed with fire.”
