Critical Misclass

CHAPTER 40 - Missing Time

I don't know if it was the intended effect of the Decoction, or some kind of slingshot effect caused by Red Gauze's manipulation of our bodies, but when our energy returned, it felt even more potent than before. We started off by jogging again, but within minutes, we had progressed to full-on running. Only the uneven terrain, and having to occasionally check our compass, kept us from sprinting at top speed, and even the gear on our backs didn't slow us down.

As our pace quickened, I found it difficult to keep the light spell hovering over us, due to the comparitively-sluggish speed in which it moved. Ves and Thia cast the spell, each hoping they could make it move at the same speed as us, with no luck. Fortunately, in a moment of frustration, Ves found that she could cast the spell onto an object and have it give off a similar amount of illumination. We each cast the spell onto our own clothes, which proved to be better than a single mote of light above us... at least, in this situation.

It wasn't long before we reached the main road, and then we could really pick up the pace. The whole experience felt like a dream, in that it didn't actually feel like we were running for hours and hours... most of the time. Not only did time seem to pass differently than usual, but there was no sense of physical exertion. Had I been in my right mind, I know I would have spent much of the time worrying about what might happen to us when the potion wore off.

The light we radiated was more than sufficient to see what was in our vicinity, but naturally, everything was pitch black beyond that. When we passed the inns along the way - first Tremril, and a few hours later, Paddorn - we could spot them from a good distance away, being the only other sources of light around. Somewhere, deep within me, I wanted to stop and enjoy a meal, but every other part of my mind and body was buzzing and couldn't stop.

Besides, we had already discovered what could happen if we stopped running while the potion was still flowing through us.

I felt a slight chill. My hand reached to pull up a blanket, but there didn't seem to be any. I patted myself, confirming that I was fully naked. Opening my eyes made the throbbing pain in my head worse, so I shut them again. I groaned, but it didn't sound quite like my voice... because Ves was groaning at the same time.

"Oh, Jesus." I rolled over so my face was against the floor, trying to block out what little light there was in this place. There were no pillows or blankets, but my main concern was my headache. "What happened?"

Ves grunted in a certain way that told me she was doing a full-body stretch. "Ugh, no idea."

"Where's Thia..." I forced myself to lift an arm and feel around for the aevrana's body. She was closer than I expected. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and turned my head just enough to see her. Thia was still asleep, a faint line of drool coming from the corner of her lips.

Ves scooched closer nuzzled her face against my shoulder. "Last thing I remember was running past the inn. The second one. I mean, the first one we stayed at. Whatever."

"Yeah, I kinda remember that. Uh... where are we now?"

"Home. My house. I know these smells."

I took a few sniffs. The most prominent scents were instantly recognizable, but not in a way that indicated a particular location... not a place I had ever been, anyway.

With more effort than expected, I lifted my upper body and sat up. My partners were also naked, and suddenly, the smell made sense: we had clearly had another potion-fueled fuckfest before passing out.Glad we made it inside this time.The lack of blankets helped confirm that this was, in fact, Ves's house.

I tapped Thia's side with my foot. She rolled onto her back, and (just like me and Ves) groaned. She held her hands over her eyes.

"By the Goddess... what has happened..."

"We ma--ah,damn," I grimaced as another sharp pain went through my head. "We made it. Memory's fuzzy, though."

Thia slowly sat up, and wiped her mouth with her wrist. "I... think... I remember reaching the village. The sun was rising."

Ves stood and stretched again. "That sounds about right."

"What time is it?" I looked around the room, forgetting that Ves didn't have anything of the sort. "I'll check."

I only took a few steps towards the door when both ladies called for me to stop.

"What?? Oh, shit." I was still naked. Ves found my good ol' jogging clothes and cast the cleaning spell on them. She flinched as she did so; apparently, I wasn't the only one with a nasty headache.

After putting the shirt and shorts on, I opened the front door just enough to take a peek. We had no way of knowing what had gone down in Perrenbrook over the last several days. Nothing stood out to me, so I slowly opened the door and looked around before closing it.

"Looks like it's sometime in the evening. The sun is setting."

Thia rose from the floor. "Did we sleep for half a day?"

"Or a day and a half," Ves grumbled. She was casting the cleaning spell on her and Thia's clothes, as well as on a few spots on the floor.Could that be the best spell ever? I'm ready to convert to Goddess worship just for that.

"Hopefully not." Thia started looking around the small house. Watching her walk around naked, her slender hips moving from side to side, was more than a little distracting. Another bolt of pain shot through my head.

As Ves put on her clothes, she asked "How long were we running, anyway?"

Math was never my forte, even when I wasn't feeling some kind of potion-induced hangover, but I tried to determine how long we had traveled from Sveja's cabin. "I... think... we ran for at least sixteen hours. God, that's crazy."

"The Decoction appeared to be quite useful at first, despite some... peculiarities," Thia said as she looked through Ves's cabinets. "But if it causes one to sleep for nearly as long as the potion's active effect... Ves, do you haveanywater available??"

"Nope. Gotta go to the well."

A well?! I take back what I said about the Goddess."Alright... Ves, mind showing a dummy from another world the right way to get water from a well? I'd better learn if I'll be doing that a lot."

Once we were all cleaned, dressed, and hydrated, we set out to find Kael. Perrenbrook didn't seem any different than how we had left it, making us feel slightly more confident about getting back in time to warn people about the cult. Being later in the day, Thia said that Kael would likely be at the inn. My appetite had grown as my headache receeded, so that sounded like a great plan to me.

The unmistakable smell of food hit us all as we got closer to the inn. Ves and I had to keep up with Thia as she walked with purpose towards the entrance and practically slammed the door open. There wasn't anyone at the front desk, as Brinn and Tabur were presumably busy cooking and serving meals.

There were several people seated in the dining area. Despite having his back to us, Kael was easy to spot, on account of his size and booming voice. Ullun was sitting opposite him, facing us, and only looked mildly surprised as we approached. There was a whole roasted chicken in front of Kael, while Ullun had a bowl of soup. Kael turned just as Thia reached the table, a confused smile on his handsome face.

"Sister...! What are you--"

Thia didn't acknowledge him, as she sat down, tore a leg off the chicken, and promptly devoured everything but the bone. It reminded me a lot of cartoon cats eating fish and pulling the skeleton out of their mouths.

Ves was obviously envious of Thia for getting to eat first. I cleared my throat to get the others' attention.

"Hi Kael, hi Ullun. Good to see you again."

"Jeremy!" He reached over Thia's much-smaller form to clasp my hand and shake it vigorously. "And dear Lady Ves. I apologize for not standing, but..."

I chuckled as Thia tore a large portion of meat off of the chicken with a fork.

Kael motioned to the table. "Please, join us. I insist!"

Ves sat next to Ullun, allowing me to sit between her and Ves. Kael looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"Ah, Brinn, it appears we will need another chicken, if possible."

The middle-aged woman noticed us and gasped. "Oh! When did you lot get here?"

I smiled. "Just now. It's good to be back."

"Tabur will be glad to see that you're all well. He's been so worried! And you look famished. What can I get for you?"

I looked at Ves, who was still staring at the chicken, wise enough to not try and take any for herself, then turned back to Brinn. "Uh, whatever's easiest and quickest. Just as long as it has meat."

As Brinn bustled off to the kitchen - to bring us stew, if I knew anything about inns in this world - Kael clapped his hands together and leaned forward.

"So! You can imagine our surprise, seeing you mere hours after receiving your message about being gone for an additional week!" He chuckled. "If this was some kind of prank, I daresay you succeeded in fooling us!"

Presumably, he meant "us" as in "him and Ullun", and not in some royal way, but the beautiful elf looked as disinterested in everything as ever.

"Actually, we had a sudden change of plans, and we need to tell you something."

"Of course, of course. But first, we must eat. Clearly, you all need a solid meal after so much time on the road." He patted Thia on the back, which she ignored as she continued eating all of the chicken. It was oddly appealing, although women as gorgeous as her could do basically anything and make it look good.

Brinn hustled back to the table with a tray, on which were some bowls and what looked like a small cauldron with a wooden spoon. "Tabur just finished this pot of stew. Please, help yourselves! And your other chicken will be out as soon as possible, sir."

We thanked her as she rushed back off to the kitchen. Kael handed bowls to me and Ves, and pointed at the third. "You wouldn't mind if I...?"

I shook my head. "Please, go ahead." It was the least we could do with Thia taking his meal just before he could start it.

Kael took the large spoon and filled each of our bowls. The stew was still hot, so Ves and I were blowing on our spoonfulls before taking small bites, but Kael finished his bowl almost immediately.

"Thank you! That should hold me over until my main course arrives. Now then, I'm eager to hear all about your journey! Would you believe that I've never been to Vanndrenvar? Mother and Father never had anything pleasant to say about it, but I want to know what you thought about the city."

Thia swallowed another big bite. "It isawful."

I shrugged. "That kinda says it all. But we really do need to tell you something, first. While we were trying to find information on the rune--"

"The rune!" Kael laughed. "Of course. I was so pleasantly surprised to see all of you that it slipped my mind. Your expert has arrived."

Ves lowered her spoon to her bowl and cocked one ear. "Our what?"

"The runic expert you hired. He arrived in the village this morning."

CHAPTER 41 - Change of Plans

Kael's words made us all freeze. Even Thia stopped eating the chicken. Concerned and confused, she looked at her brother.

"We did not hire anyone..."

"Come, now. He arrived at the Adventurer's Network, and told Mrs. Zurax that he had been hired by you three. Mentioned you by name, from what I was told. I was informed, and met him at the town hall. He certainly seemed to know a lot about you."

Some of the fur on Ves's ears and tail was bristling. "What was his name? What did he look like?"

Kael was slightly taken aback by Ves's tone, as well as our general lack of understanding. "I do not recall the man's name. He was an... older," he turned to Ullun, who gave him a single nod. "An older elven man. He had the look of a scholar."

"Iluriar," I muttered, although something didn't feel right. If he had left Vanndrenvar shortly after taking the journal, that would give him over a day's head start on us, but we had only made such good time thanks to the Decoction.Guess I wouldn't put it past an evil cult to have access to various types of magic and alchemy."Where is he now?"

"He was eager to inspect the rune for himself, and promptly left for the Starting Cave. We haven't seen him since. In fact, Ullun suggested that we check on him after our meal, in case he had difficulty returning to the village after dark."

"Or encountered any danger in the Cave itself," the stoic elven woman said quietly. It was the first time she had spoken since we'd been at the table.

Rising urgently from my seat, I nearly spilled the bowl of stew in front of me. "Listen, we didnothire that man, and we have reason to believe he's dangerous."

"Settle down," Kael growled. "Explain yourself."

Ves and Thia both stood up, with Thia finishing another bite.

"We think he belongs to a cult," said Ves.

Kael scoffed. "A cult? Outhere?Why... nevermind. If you didn't hire him, then he's here under false pretenses."

Thia nodded. "Yes, precisely. This must be reported to the sheriff."

"There's no sheriff," Ves said. "Just a volunteer militia."

I looked at Ullun, then Kael. "Then we need you to talk to the village elder, to start. People could be in danger."

Kael's bright smile had faded. "It's one thing for someone to lie about their identity, but another to claim that they are a risk to the village--"

"Brother,please." Thia had a fist clutched to her chest. With Kael sitting, the two of them were almost equal in height. "At least help us confront the deceiver."

"Aralithia." Any trace of patience was gone from Kael's chiseled face and deep voice. "That's enough. Sit down."

"No, you misunders--"

"This charade has persisted for too long." Kael stood at his full height, pushing the entire table away by a few inches. Ullun, as though expecting this move, gracefully slid her chair back at the exact same time, but Ves and I were nearly knocked down. "I requested that you join Jeremy's party solely because their assignment was mostly harmless. Even when I learned of your plans to leave the village, it was of no concern. In fact, I hoped that Vanndrenvar would convince you to end your adventuring career before it truly began."

Thia didn't reply, but kept her eye contact as Kael spoke down to her.

"I may not have visited that city, but I have heard much about their disdain for adventurers, and their ridiculous taxes on animal products." He shoved the remainder of the roast chicken across the table, where it collided with Ves's bowl. With Rogue-like reflexes, she stopped it before it could fall.

"The very idea of your party discovering anything about runes was ludicrous. It was my desire that you would return, famished and despirited, ready to abandon this life that you were so clearly not intended to live."

Thia's jaw quivered almost imperceptibly, and she kept her gaze focused on her much-larger brother. "Mayhaps there was a time, not long ago, in which that was possible. I am beginning to understand the Goddess's intentions--"

"The Goddess was wrong to grant you this class.Myclass. My words may be blasphemous, but for all the good I have done in Her name, I have the right to speak the truth, when it is this evident."

"Fuck this." I motioned for Ves to follow me as I moved around the table, towards Thia and the exit. "You don't deserve this, and we have a village to save."

Thia stared at her brother for another moment before turning and leading us out of there. It was then that I noticed Brinn, holding a tray with another roasted chicken, stunned by the loud argument. Thia tore off one of the legs as she passed.

We quickly returned to Ves's house, in order to grab our weapons, and whatever supplies we thought we might need to enter the Cave and potentially face Iluriar. There wasn't much to take, which felt like a mixed blessing.

I sheathed my daggers. "Thia, are you going to equip your armor?"

"No, it takes too long to don properly, and we should move with all haste."

"I'd rather we risk that time than risk your life."

"The only time I wore my armor in the last several days was when we sparred with Sveja. When I found myself attempting to dodge an attack, the armor was too restrictive."

"You really took my 'evasion tank' idea to heart, huh?"

"I suppose. It feels more appropriate for me to avoid an attack entirely, rather than risk grievous injury. With that said, I will still bring my shield... just in case."

Ves got our attention by holding the front door open, her magical light already hovering nearby. "If that's what you're gonna do, then let's go!"

I smiled at Thia. "Okay. I trust you."

She returned the smile, making my heart beat faster. As I passed Ves, she gave me a peck on the cheek, and my heart practically exploded.Goddamn,I'm a lucky bastard.

It was fully dark as we left the village and set foot on the trail leading towards the Starting Cave. This was my first time going to or from the Cave at night, and it was even darker than I expected, on account of how dense the trees were here compared to on the main road.

Ves walked by Thia's side. "Did you mean what you said? About understanding why the Goddess chose your class?"

"No." She paused. "I... am not quite sure," Thia added, snorting with unexpected laughter. "I was disagreeing with him because I was upset."

Ves chuckled. "He was being awful. Can't say it comes as a surprise to me. I was just wondering if you had changed the way you felt about your class."

"Meeting you, and Sveja, has given me cause to reconsider my feelings on the matter. Mayhaps the Goddess is more flawed than we have been led to believe? Or does She have a plan beyond our comprehension?"

"And then there's Jeremy."

"And then there's Jeremy," Thia repeated, with a contented sigh. "The man from another world who has both reaffirmed and made me question my faith."

I couldn't help but interject. "Didn't you say I was 'chosen by the Goddess'?"

"Yes, and I still believe that! Only now, after our experiences, I have to wonder what the Goddess has planned... if anything."

"Fair enough. I don't know much about the Goddess, but it's more than a little disheartening to learn that our first quest was meant to be hopeless."

"At this point, I'd settle for 'hopeless'," said Ves. "We got that cult's attention, not to mention that old bastard keeps showing up to play with us."

Thia pointed at Ves. "Thatis why I am confused by the Goddess's plan, if there is one. Jeremy somehow finds himself sent here, with a special ability that benefits those like you and I. Before long, he obtains the attention of a mysterious, powerful, man, in addition to a cult. It must be connected."

One of Ves's ears twitched as she considered this. "It's weird, that's for sure. If we're meant for more, then hopefully we're due for something good to happen soon."

I grinned, turning back to look at the ladies. "Hey, throughout it all, I think there's been a lot of good times."

"No complaints aboutthat." Ves smiled, as Thia giggled.

After all the longer treks we had been on lately, the walk to the Starting Cave felt like a brisk jaunt. We were at the entrance before we knew it.

Ves punched a fist into her open palm, psyching herself up. "Should we each cast light on ourselves? It's gonna be even darker in there."

"Actually, I had an idea I wanted to run by you two. Iluriar, or really, anyone in the cult, has no idea about our cross-class abilities. If things go south, this'll be our first time fighting a person who doesn't know what we can do."

Thia tapped her chin. "Which may grant us an advantage."