First Light, page 11
Vickar did very little help to her in trying to understand how to use her natural gift because he was, to put it simply, a poor teacher. Ulma was struggling to figure out how in the world her brother and Tara had learned a single thing about fighting from the man. If someone did not do something right, he would explain it the same way, just louder. As if he thought that his volume was the problem for information not getting across.
Prior to the other day, Ulma had been content with helping her mother do seamstress work at home, but one night after Rune had left, she received a strange dream.
Ulma
Ulma found herself in some sort of cavern with a massive opening above her head. The air around her felt hot enough to boil her skin and turn the hair on her head to ash. Even with the oppressive heat, however, she felt fine. At first, everything was dead silent, like she was alone in this burning landscape.
Ulma searched the area for a way out, since trying to pinch herself awake from the dream did nothing but hurt. A few minutes of exploration later, she heard cursing in between the sounds of clanging metal. With no other ideas on how to proceed, the girl simply followed the sounds. She hoped that whoever was shouting profanity was at least kind enough to help her find a way out.
When the girl located the source of the noise, she was amazed to see another actual person in this burning cave. They stood before a massive anvil next to a river of fire. The heat here was dozens of times more intense than the rest of the strange place, but instead of feeling uncomfortable, it soothed Ulma’s heart. Instead of pain and oppression, she felt inspiration and hope.
The person before her was a woman who stood inhumanly tall, eight or nine feet. Her arms and legs rippled with muscles and her face, though very plain, was still extremely charming. Ulma could not exactly make out the woman’s features. It was as if they were there and not at the same time. As though they forever changed.
The giant worked away at some sort of weapon, though it was so foreign to Ulma that she could not describe it or identify it. Truth be told, it could have been anything. Her curiosity heightened and excitement thrummed in her chest.
“Um, excuse me…what is that?”
The giant woman stopped and turned to face Ulma, who was easily dwarfed next to her. “And who in the Sea of Chaos are you?”
She gulped. Though she should have guessed the woman would have been gruff based on the cursing, her attitude was still jarring. “I’m Ulma, and I think I’m lost. I went to bed and…I think I’m dreaming. I mean, I have to be. Right?”
The giant woman put her hammer down and placed a hand on her chin, contemplating Ulma’s claims. “That name sounds familiar. Oh, wait! You’re…oh, what the fuck was his name? Vinny, Daniel, Carson, Jerod…no definitely a ‘V’ name… Kid, what’s your dad’s name?”
“Vickar.”
“That’s it! You’re Vickar’s brat. The one without the thing. Well, you have a different thing goin’ on, I guess. What with the eyes and stuff. But not like your brother. Wow, didn’t you get lucky?”
“What do you even know about Rune?” Ulma felt defensive. Regardless of who this entity was, even if she was a fragment of a dream, there was no way she would let someone get away with disrespecting her brother. Only she could do that.
“Hey, what do you think of this?” The strange woman cut Ulma off and gestured towards the strange-looking weapon. “It’s a new farming implement! So, what do you think?”
As if compelled to give an answer, Ulma analyzed the object before her. It was made entirely of metal with large wheels. Somehow, it reminded her of an enclosed carriage, were that carriage equipped with massive metal spikes on its front and a strange metal tube reaching out from the top of it.
“The real one will be a bit bigger. Enough to fit a person. This is just a model. A proof of concept, as it were.”
“Um, it looks well made, I guess. Farming? It looks like a weapon of war, not a tool for a field. What does it do?” Ulma asked. She wanted to circle back and finish asking her own questions, but something about this person scared the living daylights out of her. That feeling of terror increased the moment she started feeling disrespected. Now, Ulma felt as if it would be best to follow along.
The woman frowned. “Damn, you can’t tell? Supposed to be easy for you to understand… Welp, guess that’s a failure. I’ll look at the design again in a few centuries. Maybe by then, those Volari will start sharing. Either that or those damn humans will finally start catching up… well something, different. Some are trying, but I don’t like their methods all that much.” She quickly hid a look of disgust before she snatched up the model and tossed it into the lake of fire. In a fraction of a second, it melted away into nothingness.
“Anyway, brat, I ain’t gonna tell you about your brother. I know you wanted to ask. What I will tell ya is to start workin’ the forge! Ya got talent! And your dad’s a good one. I like him.”
Ulma nodded along. She had basically no interest in working on weapons, but again, she felt a strange sensation that told her disagreeing with this person was a terrible idea. “Father is a good smith. I’m sure I could learn a lot from him.”
“You mean you will learn? You don’t have a choice in the matter. Not if I have a say. The others claim I’m heavy handed, but a heavy hand makes for a heavy strike. When working the forge, that’s what you need.” The woman’s aura changed into something incredibly dangerous. Ulma felt herself on the verge of losing consciousness. A moment later, it vanished, with the woman waving her hand dismissively. “Anyway, he’s one of the best. Now piss off, I got work to do and you’re distracting me.”
Ulma
After the strange dream, Ulma had woken up like normal, and upon seeing him, had immediately asked her father to teach her his skills. This shocked both him and her mother, but Vickar’s shock was immediately overwhelmed by intense pride.
“Ulma! Come on, snap out of it! You are nothing like yesterday.” Vickar’s statement brought Ulma back to the present.
“Sorry, Father, I am just a little distracted is all.”
“I can tell. You look like you haven’t been sleeping well. How about you call it a day? Rest. We can resume training tomorrow. I know, why don’t you go deliver Rune’s letter to Tara?”
Ulma sighed and nodded in agreement. She definitely did not want to be a burden in the forge if she could help it. In fact, she oddly enjoyed the work. Even on the first day, she felt a strange satisfaction in her work that helping her mother never gave. I guess I’ll just listen to that woman from my dream. I’ll keep training with father. Something just clicked for me, so maybe this was meant for me.
“Sweetheart, is everything okay?” Her mother approached them with a look of concern. “I think it might be time to listen to your father and rest.”
“I know, Mother. I was just about to head inside. Guess I’m still not used to Rune being gone. I’ve been having strange dreams.” Ulma sighed. “Hey, pops?”
“What?” Vickar grunted. Her botched work was in his hands as he turned it over to see if there was a way to salvage anything from it.
“When will you teach me alderite-weaving?”
“My preferred answer would be never. But you and your brother are just as stubborn as each other. No doubt the more I try to scare you off from it, the more you’ll run to it,” Vickar sighed. He removed his goggles and placed them gently on the anvil. The twisted hunk of metal she had ruined was tossed into a pile of scrap with a loud clang. “When you can reliably make something without doing whatever that piss poor excuse at smithing was, then I will teach you.”
Ulma nodded. She was dragging the conversation out. Her body was exhausted and the moment she rested, she would pass out and risk having another dream on that fiery mountain.
“Promise me,” Vickar said quietly. His stern gaze was gone, replaced by worry. “When I teach you, just…stay here. In Locke. No matter who—or what—tries to pull you from this place, stay here.”
Chapter Ten
Rune
Ven and Rune slowly approached the den of the beast they had been tracking for a few days. According to the locals, it had made a small hiding place amongst some thick bushes right off the edge of the Greatwood outside of Dorn’s southern gates. The farmer who filed the request had already lost three of his cows, a few pigs, and a lamb to the monster. After all that, he was not too keen on losing more. He even offered to pay fifty percent over market value for the beast’s pelt.
Normally, the hide of a Shadow Wolf was a desired item to collect from the monster, since it was well-suited for making high-quality fur cloaks and travel blankets, items valued by the Vanguard. However, the farmer’s offer was too good to pass up. Neither of them needed or wanted to upgrade their equipment, either, so they readily agreed to the additional request.
Thankfully, the tracks Ven and Rune had found while scouting out the beast’s territory and the farmer’s fields showed their prey was a solo creature. If there had been one or two more, then it might have been too much to handle, bumping the quest into a D-Rank. Once they had found the nesting site, Ven set up a few hundred yards away from the entrance, while Rune was about half that distance. Every half hour, the silver-haired young man would change position to ensure that if the wolf was watching them back, that he at least would pull attention away from Ven and make it seem like Rune was a lone intruder.
Five hours into their stakeout, Ven noticed movement amongst the trees and gave the agreed upon signal, a simple bird call. Rune signaled back that he understood and acknowledged what she saw. The monster then emerged from between the trees. It was one and a half times larger than a normal wolf, and as the name suggested, it was covered in jet-black fur. The only splash of color on the beast was its golden irises, glowing in the evening light. Ven silently thanked the gods that they would not have to fight it at nighttime or in the woods themselves.
Tracking the monster’s movements, Ven noticed as it slowed to a stop a few feet from the entrance to the nest it had built. It looked up and around while sniffing the ground and air. Ven tensed, anticipating the wolf monster’s next move, and readied an arrow in her bow. She stayed low and out of sight for a few moments. At least, until the Shadow Wolf got into a crouched position and growled in the direction Rune was hiding. When that happened, Ven quickly stood up while finishing her draw. With only a single second to aim, she released the arrow at the creature. As if sensing the attack, the Shadow Wolf leaped to the side and dodged the projectile before it hit its mark.
Rune took advantage of the distraction and jumped out of his own hiding place to the creature’s right. He drew his standard sword and slashed towards the creature’s face. Ven released another two arrows in rapid succession to pin the beast down. Merely a distraction, but it would limit the beast’s movements. They worked together to make the monster decide if it should dodge either her or Rune, but not give it the opportunity to avoid both.
Ven’s arrows were the key part of the plan since a Shadow Wolf’s pelt was rather resistant to slashing type weapons like swords. Using the penetrative power of her bow, they could pierce its tough hide. Alternatively, they could use Rune’s alderite enhanced blade, but it would drain the core he had and could cause unnecessary damage to the pelt that would lower its value.
Eventually, the wolf decided the closer opponent was a bigger threat and took one of Ven’s arrows to its hind leg, letting out a pained yelp. Blood spurted from the wound. Must have hit something important! Thankfully, the damage seemed to also slow the creature, making it easier for more shots to hit. After a few minutes of back and forth with Rune, the monster began to tire. Somehow, even after the hit to its leg and other areas of the body, it avoided future strikes to other vital locations. Not content to only serve as a distraction, Rune used his shield to smash the wolf’s maw.
Ven noticed once again that as the fight dragged on, both she and the wolf were tiring out. Conversely, Rune seemed to get faster and stronger. His shield strikes, which the wolf was merely shrugging off in the beginning, now made it recoil with a yelp. Time between each hit also seemed to lessen as he appeared to move faster and faster.
What a monster, Ven mused. Wonder if this has something to do with that fancy fighting style his father taught him.
Gaining strength as a fight went on was an insane gift that most fighters would kill for. Ven was acutely aware of her own jealousy of his ability, especially since she was feeling her arms protest the repeated motions of drawing her bow.
“Ven, watch out! It’s coming your way!”
Rune’s warning was correct. The wolf broke away from Rune’s increasingly painful strikes and rushed towards the weaker of the two opponents. Instinct told the wolf that it could no longer flee, so it resolved to take at least one attacker down with it. By the time Ven was ready for the creature’s change in attack pattern, the wolf had already closed half the distance between them.
Ven took a deep breath and released three more arrows before stowing the bow. She then pulled out her backup weapons; a pair of daggers. The one in her right hand was designed for a reverse grip hold and the other was useful in either direction. Ven lacked the physical strength to go toe-to-toe with a creature as big and strong as this, so she ran diagonally from the monster to lead it back toward Rune’s position.
The Shadow wolf leaped for her, exerting the remainder of its energy in going for her throat. Despite her disadvantage, she decided she could buy enough time for Rune to catch up. A huge mass of black fur descended on her position, ready to meet her blades. Right as the beast descended upon her, blocking out the sun with a large shadow, Rune closed the distance. From the corner of her eye, Ven saw a puff of dirt spray into the air from his feet. He jumped between the monster and his friend while smashing into its face with his shield. The impact caused the monster to howl and screech as it rolled several feet before skidding to a stop in the dirt, unmoving. There might have been something like the sound of cracking bones mixed in, but it was hard to tell.
“You good?”
“Yeah…” she breathed. “That was a close one.”
“I thought you said you were done being bait. So why did you do it to yourself?” Rune’s voice was higher pitched. Was he angry?
Ven shrugged before standing up and walking over to their prey. Her companion’s frustrated glare followed her, but she ignored it. Still breathing, though shallow and ragged; the monster rolled its eyes to look at her. No fight was left in it. Death was its only future, and the wolf knew that. Ven eyed the monster’s neck and sunk one of her daggers behind its ear, piercing the brain.
“That was fun.” She smiled at Rune.
“If I’m not allowed to use you as bait, you can’t do it either,” Rune complained while patting her on the back. “Good idea on the direction you took. I think if you really tried for it, you could have gone for a single one right between the eyes instead of three as a distraction. In the mental state it was in and the amount of dedication in that last charge, I doubt it would have been able to dodge.”
Ven shrugged nonchalantly. “Eh, maybe, but there was also the likelihood that I missed the target, or it could have held enough energy to pull off that dodge. Or…maybe this was going to be more fun.”
Rune continued to grumble, eliciting several small laughs from her while they worked on the monster’s corpse. They skinned it and collected its fangs as proof of a job well done before slicing up the rest of the body and scattering it about the entrance to the forest. Wolf meat was not good eating. Definitely a last-ditch food source and not for enjoyment.
They walked back to the farmer with their bounty and exchanged it for the promised money and a written letter showing they completed the job. Rune did most of the talking because Ven was—as she had admitted to him already—not good with people.
“Thank you, son. And the girl, too. Damned overgrown dog cost me a lot of money these last few weeks.” The farmer sighed while looking at the animals in his pasture. “It’ll be awhile before the cows start producin’ again. I think the stress dried them up.”
Rune laughed. “Well, I’m sure they’ll come around. If you want, we can sell you the pelt at normal market value instead. Take that extra coin and get a few more dairy cows with it to get you back going while you wait for the other ones to calm down.”
Ven’s eyes snapped to him. She was not against the idea, but was surprised that the young man’s kindness spread even to people he did not have to impress. It was looking like he was too good to be true. She had already gotten used to his respectful nature at the Hall, but she had been convinced it was to make a good impression on fellow members and the master. This farmer did not matter in the grand scheme of things. Guess he's just a good guy.
“You sure about that, son?”
“Well, I’d offer to give you the pelt free of charge, but I don’t want to seem ungrateful for your offer to pay us more for it. If we kept it and sold it to the Vanguard, we’d lose out on about ten percent. So, we still make off better.”
“Well, that is mighty kind of ya’.” The farmer turned to Ven. “That’s only if it's okay with the young lady?”
Once Ven nodded in agreement, Rune settled their negotiations and they began the trip back to Hilden. Rune remained silent while cradling his head. Ven had noticed that after fighting, he always seemed to get some sort of migraine. Asking about it seemed rude, so she remained silent. It was never a hinderance so there was not even a need to ask about it.
Remembering how he fought the wolf brought a blush to her face again. I think I have a problem, Ven thought. I kinda wanted him to jump in to save me like that… He’s kinda really cool.
Lestreus
Lestreus sat before his father with a determined expression on his face. His father, King Leonidas Faradin, rubbed the sides of his head with both hands after listening to his son’s request.
