Standing along the side of the empty, cleared road that wound through Lopus, Lee watched a horde of adventurers travel toward where the multitudes of camps and tents were set up. Already, those who had first arrived started clearing away the nearby trees to make space, chopping the wood into suitable-sized firewood to use later.
Lee tried his best not to stand out as he watched party after party pass him by on wagons or foot. His titles were turned off again, as the knights Meriah had mentioned were coming later, and he didn’t want to grab any undue attention.
He would have liked to be successful in not standing out, but Em’s excited and towering form standing behind him dragged enough attention toward his direction anyway. A host of failed Identifies alerted him, no doubt having some of them succeeding, judging by the occasional set of wide eyes and whispers.
After a few minutes of standing casually by the wayside, a man wearing the first set of full plate mail Lee had seen broke away from the end of the wagon line and bee-lined straight toward him.
The man must have been in his fifties, but he was spry and looked more than willing to throw down with some monsters if given the chance. His finely groomed salt and pepper beard and short-cut brown hair gave him an air of importance. The armor itself did the job, as it was clean and pristine—unblemished by any travel—a self-cleaning enchantment.
The man’s stern brown eyes flicked toward Em before settling on Lee. The man spoke with a deep baritone, his helmet held underneath his arm and tucked into his armpit. “I am Knight Captain Hemsworth, in service to Lady Briarbreak—Sent ahead of my regiment to gather information about the threat within our lands. Might I have a moment of your time?”
Lee looked to his left and right, making sure that it was indeed him that the knight was talking to. “Is there a reason you’re asking me in particular? I am just a man on the side of the road.”
Hemsworth snorted. “Just a man indeed. I was told that there was a simple man with a unique companion who would be in charge here.”
“And who told you that?” Lee asked, a pit forming in his stomach.
“My Lady.” Came the curt response.
Lee looked up toward Em, who was hovering above him with a piercing stare aimed at the Knight Captain. “And do you happen to know how she knows about such a simple man?”
“I do not, but few can command my Lady into action.” Hemsworth slowly raised his gaze to match Em’s.
Lee waited a moment to let the knight simmer before sighing and walking off toward their small camp. “Follow me. However, I am most definitely not in charge of this mess.”
Without any hesitation, Hemsworth followed along, always a step behind Lee and to the side. Em walked to his right, easily making her presence known to whoever was in front of them to clear the way.
While walking, Lee asked some questions.
“Is your Lady coming here with the rest of your friends?”
“She is. The resolution of this indecent is paramount. Tell me, what is your job Mr. Barnes?”
Lee almost missed a step upon his name being casually mentioned. “I am a healer. Normally, I’d say to keep my class a secret, but judging by the amount of Identifies thrown my way by the adventurers coming into town today, I think the secret is long gone.”
With a grunt and straightened back, Hemsworth carried on. “I am sorry for any slights toward you, Healer Barnes. I was unaware of your status.”
Lee waved away the false platitudes. “Just Lee is fine. Treat me as you would anybody else. I’m not from your country - I’m unlike the healers you have here.”
Em decided to jump into the conversation here. She scratched a metallic leg across the cobblestone street, causing a little spark to fly from the friction. Her regal voice coming into play. “Lee is very different. Do not take his words lightly, Sir Hemsworth. He is sincere. I am Emthraxiatus Mertalicus Sepheroxus, former watcher of the tower of Breye and stalwart defender of the realm—Brood Mother of the Metalic Vanguard. You may refer to me as Em.” She finished by raising her chin up into the air, the sunlight glinting off her armored form.
A crack was seen in the Knight captain's demeanor for the first time. He cautiously looked up to Em and said a simple phrase. “A pleasure.”
Once they arrived at their camp, Lee gestured around the area at a few logs set up for everyone to sit on. “Take your pick. We are living modestly.” Lee let out a little chuckle as he sat down on a log near the small flickering fire.
Hemsworth looked taken aback by Lee’s living conditions. Probably assuming that Lee would be living in luxury. In the end, sitting next to him, he didn’t make a scene or comment about it. Em didn’t have a log to sit on, as she would crush anything her weight came down upon. She made her way to the large bundle of new mattresses and blankets Lee had gotten for her earlier in the week. An indentation of her body was already taking root as she plopped down and tucked her legs in.
“As I said, I’m not in charge around here. I won’t have all the information you need…” Lee spotted a hurrying Jeremy jogging toward them from the village. “... but he might.” Lee nodded his head toward Jeremy.
Knight Captain Hemsworth swiveled his head toward Jeremy, paused for less than a second, then stood to meet him with a military salute.
“Honorable Blight, how fortuitous. I wasn’t aware your service had started.” The Knight Captain gave Jeremy a nod of respect and stood at attention as Jeremy caught his breath.
Jeremy took in the appearance of Hemsworth for a few seconds before recognition dawned on his face. “Sir Hemsworth…?” A smile tugged at his lips. “How long has it been since our paths crossed?”
Hemsworth eased his shoulders and adopted a posture of familiarity as he chucked. “Four or five years by my count. I hope my lessons still ring true?”
Jeremy patted his sheathed sword and sat down around the fire, eagerly gesturing for Hemsworth to do the same. “Saved my life not too long ago.”
Jeremy turned to Lee with a smile, one of the few sincere smiles Lee had seen on the young noble’s face. “Hemsworth taught me the blade.”
Lee gave a polite smile, but Em gave a snarky remark. “He should have taught you more. Or, you should have practiced a lot more. It’s hard to say.”
Before things could get out of hand, Lee redirected the conversation. The faster he could get away from all the busy work, the faster he could get to teaching the new adventurers.
“Well, Knight Captain, it seems you’re in capable and familiar hands. Jeremy can get you up to speed. I have things to attend to.” Lee made to get up, but Jeremy hastily waved him back down.
“I think Knight Hemsworth might be suitable for your… teachings.” Jeremy’s eyes were almost pleading, but Lee wasn’t sure about teaching an unknown knight his healing magic. For all he knew, this Lady Briarbreak might be on the side of the Healer’s Santum. At the very least, she would surely know or have contracted healers around. She could easily let knowledge about him slip.
Lee snuck a glance at Hemsworth, then looked back at Jeremy. “I don’t know about this Jeremy. I do not know the Knight Captain as well as you. He has connections that are dangerous. Maybe once Lady Briarbreak gets here and I get to know her character a little better,” Lee nodded toward Hemsworth. “No offense.”
Hemsworth looked a little confused but more so calculating. His eyes narrowed as he thought. It was obvious that the man was trying to ascertain what they were talking about but didn’t have enough context clues to put it all together.
Jeremy stood up quickly and swung to Hemsworth, shock and a slight amount of anger leaking through his tone. “She’s coming here?! Hemsworth… you should know better. This is not some simple cleanup for the knights; this is a dangerous infestation or worse.”
To Hemsworth’s credit, he seemed to agree. “I cannot stop my Lady from doing what she wills. She knows of the danger.”
Jeremy paced back and forth as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “What’s done is done. When is she due to arrive?”
Looking up to the sky, Hemsworth muttered. “A few hours.”
Nodding along, Jeremy turned to Lee… only to find an empty seat. He looked around the camp, seeing no signs of the healer anywhere around. The only sounds he could hear were the crackling of the fire and Em’s snickering.
“Em, where did Lee go?” Jeremy asked.
Em shrugged her human shoulders while wearing a grin. Her leg-like maw let loose little hisses of laughter. “Away from here. He’s a busy man.”
Hemsworth hummed and then mumbled aloud, his hand gripping his salt-and-pepper beard. “A stealth skill? Unique for a healer…”
—------------------
Lee stealthed his way into the village and walked casually toward the village hall once he was out of sight. Hopefully, most of these new adventurers were mages, and Fatalina managed to pull through. He would find out soon.
Once he managed to shove his way into the crowded building, he walked into his set-aside teaching room. Inside were a few parties casually hanging out, obviously unaware of the room's purpose. They spared him little more than a glance as they resumed their conversations.
He walked toward the closest group and caught their attention. “Excuse me, was there anybody in charge of this expedition?”
A tap on his leg caused him to look down. Two brown beady eyes and an elderly wrinkled face stared up at him. Lee’s brain stuttered as he took in the staggering presence of the three-foot-tall person. She sneered at his judgment but answered his question. “You’ll find her in the main room.”
Lee stood there for a second longer before snapping back to his senses. “Thank you—my name’s Lee. If you need healing, find me. The first session is free.”
The sneer dropped to one of ‘oh-shit’ before the extremely short elderly woman coughed. “My pleasure.”
She slunk away through the legs of her companions as Lee left the room.
Was that some other race? Or just an extremely shrunken human? A halfling? A little-person?
Lee made his way to the main meeting room of the village hall and opened the door. Inside the enormous room, there were only a handful of people. His entrance caused every single pair of eyes to center on him, and one such pair of eyes strode directly toward him with intent.
It was a woman, probably in her mid-thirties. She wore what Lee would call a mix of maid uniform and secretary—a uniform for sure. It was a mix of black and white—mostly black, with a long pleated skirt. The woman wore a pair of glasses and had her long auburn hair done up in a bun. Her face was primarily blank, devoid of much emotion, but he spotted her prominent freckles.
She paused a step away from Lee, then raised her hand. Wispy air mana expanded in a small bubble, suddenly encasing the woman and Lee. Lee was about to cast a spell of his own, a very offensive-oriented one at that when the woman bowed in front of him.
She rose up with her arms crossed into her sleeves. She spoke in a monotone voice before Lee could do anything rash. “My name is Regina. Fatalina sent me.”
