Plot
"So then... you an ogre?" The blacksmith asked.
The large daemon didn't pause in what he was doing at all. But he was quiet for a bit. "Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah I am." Eventually he pulled the boot free from his left leg. Once that was done he started to inspect the limb. Most of the injuries he substantiated were only skin deep, it was his armor that had taken the most damage. Another one of the perks of having scales and such thick skin, it took awhile for something to eat through it. However he still had to check on each of them, encase the stinging sensation he felt on different parts of his body were more severe than he thought.
Behind him the blacksmith laughed, sounding a bit like he was trying to decide between being nervous and relieved. "Well then... that good. I thought you were a demon or something when you first walked in." He took the singed boot from the horned man and took it over to where the other paces of his armor was being stacked up. Blitson just grunted. "Yeah, I get that a lot." It was fortunate that he looked similar enough to the hulking horned wildlings, it stopped people from breaking out the torches and pitchforks right away. He did make a note to not let anyone in town not get a good look at his eyes though. Daemons were rare so he supposed they wouldn't know the tell-tail signs needed to figure out what he really was. And he didn't know if these people would care. But he certainly wasn't going to take the chance.
"We don't see any ogres round these parts, their usually off bothering other parts of the land." The blacksmith went on. "I must say you're more well spoken then what I though an ogre would be like. Ah! No offense meant of course!"
Bliston just shrugged his shoulders as he got started on his next boot. "I've lived long enough in civilized lands to become more articulate than my nomadic kin." A few moments he finished pulling his other boot off. When he looked down at his shin, he sighed. He expected this.
There on his leg, was a long blotch of dark purple skin giving away a clear sign of infection. That putrid slime that got hold of him earlier had managed seep deep enough into his flesh to leave it's mark on him. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he held out his other hand and said "Bring me that hot iron will you?" The blacksmith nodded and retrieved a long metal bar that had been half resting in the furnace. Taking the pole of heated metal, Bliston pressed the red hot end to the infected area, and hissed through clenched teeth.
The paladin's holy magic couldn't cure this, not with the way Bliston's infernal heritage would interfere with the holy magic. Besides, thanks to that same cursed heritage, Bliston didn't need to worry so much about suffering from burn wounds, making burning out diseases like this much more effective.
As he continued to press the heated iron against his skin he started to hear a lot of commotion outside. A few moments later someone came knocking on the door. The blacksmith went to answer while Bliston continued to 'treat' his leg. A moment later the man came back and relayed what he had been told.
Moments later, the people outside of the iron workers house heard a booming roar of "HE SAID WHAT!?"
The wizened village elder strode over to the hut off near the edge of the fenced off section of the village. "Those who need healing, feel free to proceed inside." He announced to the group in general.
Just a few seconds behind them Bliston, sans his armor for a change, came marching up with a very unhappy look on his face. "Where's the paladin?" He demanded to know. "I'm going to wring his neck out."
Despite having woken from her knocked out state, Lana - or rather, Florette, was in no state to be moving on her own and as such, needed to be carried inside. She was laid down, her eyes closed and doing little to control her fevered breathing.
The unconscious and severely burned dwarf was brought in as well and laid to rest on a straw mat. His raging done, the dwarf was beginning to succumb to the wounds he had received. Fighting the slimes without any forethought had proved near fatal for him.
The villagers saw the two who were too wounded to proceed inside and helped them into the alchemist's hut.
Inside the hut looked just as worse for wear as the rest of the village. There were scarce few glass beakers and other apparatuses for performing alchemy, the rest of which was damaged during the many slime attacks this village had sustained. In the center was a rickety wooden table who's top was clear. In one corner there was a large wooden chest and in the other was something that would draw the most attention. There was a large wooden bath tub that was pretty much filled up with a red healing slime, which basically sat there pretty sedate.
The alchemist that sat at the table was a sight to behold. She was a tall, slender woman who would embody the very definition of human beauty. Her wavy ocean blue hair reached down to her back, her face not too narrow but more narrow than it was round. Her eyes were a piercing icy blue which seemed to almost sparkle in the light. Her nails were a similar color to her hair, a rich, colorful shade of blue. Of course, given how impoverished this town was, she was clad no differently than the other villagers, wearing little more than a scant brown sack dress. It seemed almost a disservice to her beauty, like a pearl caked in mud. While her smooth fair skin was mostly pale, it seemed to possess an almost bluish hue to it, giving her an unusual presence. She seemed to have a peculiar aura of grace about her which made her almost impossible to avoid noticing. The ends of her fingers were tinted slightly red given how much she had worked with healing slime in recent times.
"Oh dear, I see these people require quite a bit of healing." Her voice was as smooth as air, calming in its light soothing tone. "Yes Oolaene, we need these heroes better so they can proceed up to the tower and see what has become of Fumbledorf." The elder informed her. "I see. I shall do everything I can, Elder Kron." She proceeded over to the wounded. She proceeded to examine their wounds, analysing the nature of their injuries.
The gnome watched the woman with a guise of interest, suspicious of her. She seemed far too...different to be human. He approached as she studied the wounds of his allies. "Oolaene was your name, yes?"
Bliston, still irritated but not feeling up to push the issue of his earlier cause of anger just yet, grumbled and walked in and just sat down. He completely ignored the woman in the hut, not really feeling the least bit stunned by her presence.
She looked up from the wounded adventurers as a gnome had addressed her. "It is." She answered his question before standing up, easily more than twice as tall as him. "Is there something you need?" She asked, her voice like calm water as she proceeded over to her wooden chest. She opened the large storage, bending down to retrieve some tools, her dress hugging tightly to her curves. She produced a wooden bowl, a waterskin, and what appeared to be a sort of translucent cloth. She shut the chest and walked on over to the large red slime, her movements flowing like air, not a single stutter or misstep in her motions.
The gnome shook his head in response as he watched her work. He knew she wasn't human, that was for sure. But she didn't seem to be a treat, at least for now. If she was a fae, however, there was a chance that she'd come from the unseelie court. On the off chance that she was, he decided it would be best to keep an eye on her work.
She gently placed the translucent cloth upon the slime. The red blob warbled a little upon her touch, the whole mass wiggling in response to her touch. "Shh now, be calm..." Her voice soothed the disquieted slime's tremors, the large red slime returning to its placid state. "Good girl" She praised the slime as she wiped the cloth along the top of its membrane. She scooped a handful of the red residue into the bowl and then another until the wooden bowl was three quarters full. "There we go. Here's your treat." She uncapped the waterskin and poured a bit of water onto the slime. An audible slurping noise could be heard as the water quickly drained through the slime's semi-permeable membrane. She brought the bowl over to the table, setting it down. With a pop she uncapped the waterskin and poured some water into the bowl, filling it up near to the rim. She walked on over to the shelf and acquired a thin glass rod before returning to the bowl. She mixed the water and slime together until they formed a smooth reddish liquid.
With the formula primed she placed her hands to the sides of the bowl, palms up, and started to speak incantations. The fluid shined with a glowing blue light as she cast, her magic flowing through the light red mixture. When the spell was done the fluid was a brighter red, looking richer than before. She walked on over to Lana first, kneeling down by her injured body. She opened the young girls mouth and poured a little of the potion into her mouth. Before Lana could swallow it she gently lifted her head and upper back up so it would go down easier. She waited to see if the young one would swallow the first portion before she'd use the rest.
Florette knew little of the world so she simply kept her eyes shut and trusted the woman to heal her, though she wasn't exactly sure what was happening, as was the cast since she had first awoken. It went down more smoothly than she imagined - it didn't really have any taste, thankfully, though its texture was a bit thick. She drank it well enough, though she made the mistake of slightly breathing in while it was still going down, giving her a brief coughing fit.
Oolaene watched as the young one swallowed the formula with little trouble, though a bit of it did catch in her throat a bit as she seemed to cough. Gently placing a hand just below her neck she spoke a short incantation. Her lungs were then soothed, the interfering liquid cleansed out given that the magic takes it's intended effect. Once she was sure the girl was done she rested her back down before moving on to the dwarf. She did the same as with the young one, leaning him up and giving him a drink from the formula.
The unconscious dwarf would need coaxing to swallow the medicine but otherwise it went down fine. His ragged breathing began to go back to normal. It would take some time for his wounds to heal but he wasn't going to die. He did stay unconcious though, which was good for everyone involved.
As the dwarf seemed to receive the potion just fine the only person left it seemed was the large horned fellow. He didn't seem as injured as the others but his leg was quite discolored in a manner she was familiar with, having seen this type of infection before in the other villagers. She went back to the chest and procured a tied translucent bag full of putrid slime. This was her last sample it seemed but hopefully if this group were to do something about the slimes coming from the tower then it would be worth it. She took the sample of slime over to the table and brought down a glass bottle from the shelf. She opened the bag of fetid slime and dumped it into the bottle, the gross excess resembling a cross between well expired milk and phlegm. She poured some water into the bottle and mixed the two together until the thick chunky texture was a little less thick and somewhat less chunky. Casting another spell the fluid was thoroughly purified until all that remained was a semi translucent white fluid. While putrid slime was highly infectious, it could be refined into a potent antibiotic.
She elegantly strode on over to the large figure, not at all taken aback by his rather fierce looking features. "Here. Drink this and it should fight the infection you must have sustained." She presented the bottle to him, waiting for him to drink it on his own accord.
Bliston snatched the bottle roughly out of her hands. He sniffed its contents, and once satisfied, downed it in a single gulp. It tasted bitter, and he had to roll his tongue around to avoid tasting it too much. He put the bottle down when finished and said a grudging "thanks" before seeming to dismiss the woman entirely.
"If you need anything else I shall do whatever is in my power to help you before you all set out." She mentioned to the two remaining conscious people in the room. She watched over the two while they healed, standing and waiting until something needed her attention.
Iator looked at the odd woman another moment. Finally his curiosity got the best of him. "I need to know. What kind of Fae are you, exactly? I've never seen any like you, and I have seen quite a few."
She turned over towards the gnome who was curious as to what she was. Seeing as she stood out rather clearly from the other villagers she had answered this question a number of times whenever strangers passed through in the past. "I am a half-Naiad. My mother was a Naiad and my father was a fisherman." She informed him, her voice still as calm as a still pond.
"Ah." The Gnome said, his questions and suspicions answered. He knew Naiads. The creatures were renowned as peaceful. He also was not really surprised to hear she was a half-breed. Nymphs were well known as creatures who sought mates outside of their own race. "I should have asked earlier."
"Never mind that." Bliston spoke up."What's this about us going on some suicide mission?"
"Hardly a suicide mission." The gnome said, his face completely serious. "If we go in with a prepared strategy, we will surely be successful. Especially with the help of Oolaene here, our fighters will be back in top shape and we can help these poor people. Perhaps even gain a bit of magical assistance on our quest for the dragon. Amenazor knows we'll need all the help we can get."
"I distinctly remember us almost getting massacred last time despite having a 'plan'." The horned man growled.
"I think we can all agree that Jor's plan was not as well thought out as it should have been. Besides, with your help creating a new plan, it will be foolproof." Iator looked at Bliston. "Another good point is to note that our path to continue onwards will be blocked by the slimes until we can solve this problem."
Bliston rumbled his throat again, but the gnome had a point. He couldn't care less about the villagers but getting out of the village itself was going to be a challenge now. "Fine." He grudgingly consented. "I'll go see what we have work with." He got up and exited the hut, settling into his now apparent role of 'party strategist '.
Somewhere outside, Bliston stood taking stock of the tower in the distance. The source of the slime infestation from what he gathered. Ideas were floating about in his head as to how to go about assaulting it. The biggest apparent obstacle was the massive gravity slime sitting on top. He could see the little 'Islands' orbiting around it, but he couldn't be certain as to how it was effecting the flow of gravity around it, making an air assault inadvisable while it was still there. "Maybe if we... no that would be too risky." He sat there and continued to ponder in silence.
Oolaena went off while the two discussed matters regarding the quest they had undertaken and fished about in her chest for a particular item which might help. As the large man left her hut she approached the gnome, a corked flask of deep blue liquid in hand. "If it is magical assistance you need I have a potion of magical empowerment you can have. It should give you a general increase in magical strength across each magical school though it isn't as potent as an element or arcane school specific magic potion." She told him, holding the bottle of refined mana slime residue out to the gnome.
He took the vial, inspecting it. "You made this from mana slimes?"
She nodded. "Yes. Believe it or not the residue from a mana slime is the base ingredient for most magic based potions thanks to it's inherent property of adhering to magical energy. Our village made decent profit from selling this ingredient to other alchemists in Londe." She informed the gnome, answering his question and then some.
"Oh, I believe it." The gnome said, opening the stopped and sniffing the contents. "I think that I have something that may interest you." He said, gesturing out the door. "I have nearly six mana slimes following some images outside town. Do you think that we could make some more potions utilizing them? Or perhaps even use them for other functions?"
While the gnome's ideas were quite valid most of them were ideas that the village had already considered before. "While I could theoretically gather some more slime for another potion I am quite short on containers to keep the potions in. Another problem is that mana slimes are quite keen on consuming magic, paying little regard for the safety of the being they glomp onto. I do not have enough magic to tame a mana slime as I'm the only magically gifted person in this village and it would take more time than it seems we have to tame one."
"While we have considered using them in other manners when they attempt to consume the more magically rich slimes they become monumentally more dangerous to handle. As it seems, throwing slimes at other slimes does little good." It was unfortunate but true that mana slimes were perhaps at their best kept away from other slimes. While they were the base for most magic potions they were also the base for some of the more complex slime mutations.
The gnome nodded in understanding. "Using them against other slimes will probably not work then." He cursed the fact that they had no minds to control or this would have been much more simple. "We have mages among us but it would probably best to wait for some time before we use them to our advantage." He thought for a second. "Do you know the best way to at least house them for the time being until we can get more time?" He asked. "Also, I collected this." He pulled out the rag that he had used to collect the blue goop. He had filled it and wrapped it up to keep as much of it as possible. "Perhaps you can use it?"
She picked up the wrapped up rag of mana slime, examining it carefully. "It might be enough for roughly half a potion. I shall see what I can make of this." She turned and went over to her table. With her last glass beaker she got what slime she could from the rag, wringing the rag of the last dredges of slime. She mixed it with the last of the water in her waterskin and purified it with magic. Once the potion was ready she offered it to the gnome. "This is the last potion I can make until I get more containers and water. As for the containment of mana slimes, the best method is a glass container roughly the size of the slime, open top so it doesn't suffocate. A mana slime can be kept calm by giving it roughly three school levels of magic a day. After about three months if you speak to it calmly enough it should let you collect its residue without too much fuss. But keep in mind one essential detail." She leaned in close.
"Do not use a spoon. Slimes are terrified of spoons." Her voice had a more serious tone as she imparted her words of warning.
Iator watched intently, trying to remember everything she did. When she began giving him advice on the mana slimes, he took out his spellbook and began writing everything she said down. He looked up when she said spoons. His eyes widening a bit. "Spoons." He said simply. He wrote it down. "I'll have to get back to that in a moment. First. I understand that your village must have a claim on the potions you make. However, I would very much like to get all of the details in making these potions for myself, along with that purification spell you used. I will trade you a spell from my own book or any amount of coin you require."
She straightened back up, resuming her refined posture. "I would be happy to give you whatever recipes or spells you may desire without any need to part with anything of your own but the time we have grows short and it would take longer than we have time for." She looked out the doorway, seeing the orange hue of the sun starting to set over the land.
Iator closed his spellbook. "You are right. Of course. We can finish this another time." He said, tipping his hat ever so slightly towards her. "I truly appreciate your efforts."
She formally bowed to the gnome. "When you return we can speak again and I shall share with you what you wished to know. I'm sorry we didn't have more time beforehand." She apologized as time was of the essence though she would of been happy just taking the rest of the day to discuss alchemy and magic. "Until then I wish you and the rest of your party the best of luck. I hope my efforts will see you through on your way." She bid farewell. Some time had passed and hopefully the injured were more capable of travel. Normally she'd insist that they wait until they've fully recovered but neither she nor they could have the luxury of rest.
The gnome bid her farewell also, saying. "The same to you, Oolaena." He left to go speak to Bliston about what she had told him.
Somewhere outside, Bliston stood taking stock of the tower in the distance. The source of the slime infestation from what he gathered. Ideas were floating about in his head as to how to go about assaulting it. The biggest apparent obstacle was the massive gravity slime sitting on top. He could see the little 'Islands' orbiting around it, but he couldn't be certain as to how it was affecting the flow of gravity around it, making an air assault inadvisable while it was still there. "Maybe if we... no that would be too risky." He sat there and continued to ponder in silence.
Though usually she was conscious about making a scene with her magic, today Sylphine didn't really care to conceal herself. Positioning her body so she would land feet first, she gently descended--conveniently right next to where the daemon was sitting. "Evening," she greeted him, walking up to his right side. "Still doing okay?"
Bliston just shrugged at the girl's question, his shoulders feeling oddly light without steel pauldron resting on them. "I'm alive, if that's what counts." He seemed to only be half paying attention to the girl, just enough to make note of her presence. His focus was mostly on the tower ahead.
Following the daemon's gaze, Sylphine noticed he was focusing on the tower in the distance. "Not the easiest task we've got ahead, huh..." she murmured to herself. "The others left you to do all the planning?"
The daemon hummed a bit. "It may not be insurmountable but... certainly not something I'm looking forward to." He crossed his arms and leaned back. After a moment of silence he looked down at the girl, finally taking full attention of her. "How are your magic reserves?"
Lightly touching the burns on her arms--somehow, it felt as though she was used to the pain now--the green-haired maiden answered, "I...my reserves definitely aren't full right now, to be sure. I might not have enough to last the whole way through if I go..." Now that she was back on the ground, in the midst of her troubles, she felt her insecurities start to take hold again. "...and how about your armor?" she asked, trying to divert her mind a bit.
"So trying to get in by air is definitely out..." he muttered to the side for a moment. Then he realized that she asked him a question. "The armor is trashed. The little buggers ate away at enough of it to make it too weak to take many blow until I get it repaired."
"...is that so...sorry to hear that," Sylphine replied, her eyes going downcast. "Well, I guess I might have enough magic left to ferry you all in...or, that's what I would say, but I don't know how that thing will affect my flight." She pointed with an open palm towards the enormous gravity slime upon the tower. "And, besides, after that, I probably won't have enough magic to do anything else, so I'll just be a pile of bricks...just like earlier today..."
The girl suddenly felt her lip trembling and her muscles beginning to tense up. Trying to restrain herself but failing, she suddenly asked, "Although...do you really want me to come with you?" Realizing what she just said, she gasped, and her hands flew up to her mouth in shock, before she added meekly, "...d-don't take that question too seriously, please."
Gale stepped in from behind them, his hands in his pockets as usual. "All you need to do is fly everyone up there, right? I could run a test flight if you're worried about what'll happen with the gravity slimes."
"Don't bother with the armor. It's pretty much useless against these things anyway if they can just seep right in." Listening to her go on though, he was starting to notice that she seemed to be having trouble standing... and that she was looking rather depressed. He... didn't know how to respond to that last statement of her's. It almost caught him by surprise considering how much she had begged to be allowed to join them back at the capital. Fortunately he didn't have to as Gale came in behind them.
"You can fly?" He asked. A bit perplexed. And then he started to realize that he didn't know a lot of his 'coworkers' talents. Any of them in fact. He thought to himself for a moment on that. It was something they were going to need to rectify soon if they were about to launch an assault on a target like this. "...No, don't fly into it just yet. Just do some scouting on the area around the tower if you can for now. I need to know what else is there before we make any further moves." He paused for a moment. "Make note of what colors the slimes are. I'm not an expert on them but I might be able to recognize some of the more unique ones' abilities."
Turning back to Sylphine he went on. "You, conserve your powers for now. We're going to need as much magic power on us as we can get for this. There's an alchemist in that hut there that's tending to the others. I want you healed up and ready to go before we make our move, whatever it is." He thought a bit. "And send the gnome out if you see him. I'll need someone to bounce ideas off of once we've got a better idea of what's ahead."
It was at that exact moment that the gnome in question exited the hut, looking for Bliston. He caught sight of the half-daemon speaking with Sylphine and Gale. He walked over. "Oh good, I've got something for you." He said, handing a vial of blue liquid to Sylphine. "It will help you to power what little magic you may have left." He turned to Bliston. "Spoons."
Looking up with a stunned expression, Sylphine almost wondered who she had been talking to. "Wait...but..." Her voice faltered for a moment, before she thought better of it. Despite what he had said a week ago, the daemon still wanted her around. Did she really need to question any further? "Alright then," she finally answered, standing up, feeling even better than she did just after her conversation with Undia. "Once we leave, you can be sure I'll be ready."
At that moment, just when she was about to look for Iator, the gnome showed up himself and handed her a vial containing an unfamiliar blue liquid. Looking at it and wondering what it could be, Sylphine nodded. "I'll take it just before we leave, then. Thank you." Moving past them with renewed confidence, she strode over to the alchemist's hut to be healed.
Bliston was put off by the gnome's comment. "What?" he stared at him for a moment before casting a glance at Gale. "Don't you have some scouting to do?"
"I'm on it, I'm on it," Gale said, taking a few steps back before turning around and walking toward the tower. The walk slowly picked up pace until it became a full sprint - a pair of large, feathery wings sprouted from his back, bringing him up into the air. He glided toward the tower, circling around at - for now - a relatively low elevation, briefly glancing upwards at the floating islands above him.
From the view he was at he could see the tower reaching up past the canopy which blocked his view of the ground. It was a rather traditional set up for a tower, circular and made of stone. At the top of it sat a massive purple gravity slime, it's body pretty much covering the entirety of the roof. Orbiting above the tree lines were patches of the ground which had been ripped from the forest and is now suspended in the gravitational field. These islands were sometimes just large patches of dirt and rock but some had grass and trees on them as well. By Gale he could see flights of wind slimes flying by, other slimes caught in the winds with the occasional few falling from the sky back into the woods.
Meanwhile, Iator sat next to Bliston. "Spoons." He laughed. "Oolaena said that the slimes are extremely afraid of spoons." He shook his head. "So we have that working for us, which is nice."
"You've got to be kidding me." The daemon responded and scratched the side of his head out of .
The gnome grinned. "Not even a little."
He stared at the smaller man for a moment. He didn't strike him as the kind of man that was foolish. "Alright... but I'd like to test the full legitimacy of that before we commit any grand scale operation on the idea. Maybe find a small group of the things and wave a few bits of silverware at them and see how they react."
"Not a bad plan." Iator responded. "I don't think it would be too hard to find a group. I happen to have a few mana slimes nearby. I can't contain them, so we might as well use what we have while we have it. Perhaps they might even be afraid of an Image of a spoon..."
"Well, only one way to find out then." The daemon chuckled. "Gather some up and meet me by the blacksmith. Then we'll head out."
Taethion noticed as his traveling companions are sent to be healed. He was happy to see that he wouldn't end up doing this alone as he previously believed. It seemed those that exited looked relatively more healthier than earlier. Although not all had exited, leaving him even more worried about their conditions. Still some of the group have moved some ways over there to gain a better sight of the tower. Most likely measuring what they will be going against. Taethion dismounted and found a kindly woman to place his horse in the, rather meager stable they have now. Despite the injuries from earlier his prayers have relieved him of the burns and wounds and thanks to Iator earlier, the armor is repaired. Thanks to his Aura of Protection, his sword had no damage whatsoever. While joining those by the tower would seem more strategically recommended, his concern for his injured friends was greater. He entered the meager hut to inspect them. "Are they alright?" Taethion spoke looking at Jor and Florette who remained on the bedding.
She noticed the man who led the group enter her humble hut. The natural beauty that was Oolaena approached him as he asked about his companions. "They are recovering well. The healing potion should have most of their injuries regenerated within the hour." She updated him on their condition.
He listened to a voice to side of him as she spoke of them. "That's good I-," he stopped in mid sentence taking aback by the woman's beauty. What a strange place to find someone so...enchanting. Taethion felt something in the back of his mind as his body rippled with a slight twinge. His eyes narrowed as his face scrunched up. His heart beginning to race but a new nagging thought began to peer within his mind. He tried to look away from her but couldn't but eventually his face began to loosen up as memories began to flood within his mind.
"So then lad, have you given any thought as to how you shall devote yourself to Lord Dedarius?" Taethion's mind went far back into his childhood as he stood in the small home of his Grandfather. He looked up to Ser Quincy with wide eyes and an even wider grin on his face. "Why yes I did!" The young Taethion said with pride and a wide, open mouth smile. "And just what might that be?" The Old, Paladin spoke as he tended to peeling the potatoes for that evening's supper. "I will make those oaths you said you did!" "I realize that but I have told you there are many, and all of them require sacrifice, remember? So what do you sacrifice?" The old man asked. "I vow to be celery!" The boy proclaimed. The Old man stopped his actions and placed his hands down, inadvertently squishing his potato.
The man sighed and then looked over his shoulder with an heavy eye. He then tossed aside the mashed potato and went to pick out another one. "Choose something else." The Old Man spoke. Taethion was confused by this as he raised an eyebrow. "Why? That's the easiest one! Girls are yucky! That's the one about not liking girls right?" He asked a confused. Quincy then began to groan in irritation, "You say that now but-!" He growled as he began to squeeze on another potato, nearly squishing it. Taethion began to shudder as he worried that he upset his grandfather. He looked over his shoulder again to notice that he was upsetting him, and then with a heavy sigh spoke, "Just...know that you will not always feel this way. One day you will understand what I mean by that." He spoke as he continued to peel the potato. "But I don't understand now grandfather. I won't feel differently, I'll continue to live my life without that silly stuff. It's easy!" He said with a half smile. Quincy then groaned, "You're not listening to me boy! There are plenty of other oaths to take didn't I teach you all of them!?" He began to shout. Taethion then stuttered, "Y-yes." "Then choose the Oath of Poverty, the Oath of Abstinence, Obedience, Against Chaos, Corruption, Undeath, Oath of Purity, all of these are better for remaining loyal and strong!" Quincy roared.
The young boy didn't understand and began wonder what he did wrong. "I'm sorry, I can do something else I guess." He said with a frown. Quincy stopped what he was doing and walked over and knelt to meet Taethion at eye level. "I'm sorry for upsetting you, but while there are many Oaths, the Oath of Celibacy is one of the hardest to overcome. I understand that while the others sound much too difficult, you are still just a boy and have yet to begin your true training. You may have no interest in women but that does change over time, whether you want it to or not. That is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is maturity and many youths like you, often foolishly make this decision when they have no understand or preparedness for it. Many Paladins have failed this Oath many times before." The Old Man warned the boy. "But I'm strong Grandpa! I know I can stay true to my word, I can do it! I won't fail you or Dedarius!" The Boy spoke with conviction. "I do not doubt your word or your faith, but...it's much more different than that. I just...I just don't want something to happen that will ruin you for the rest of your life. It's better to make the change now and not wait and see the...consequences of what can happen." The Old Paladin spoke but he had a feeling he wasn't getting through to him. He noticed the sadness of his posture and of his countenance. The boy truly believes he can stand the test of time. Quincy thought. Can he be strong? Stronger than most? the man thought. "I am sorry for my doubt and crushing the very thing you need to be strong, faith, not just in Dedarius but ultimately yourself." Quincy then stood. With another sigh he spoke, "Do what you feel is right but, please just think about it, your vow is not required to continue our training." Quincy spoke as he left him alone with his thoughts.
Some years later, Taethion has grown into adolescence, this conversation came up again but this time his Oath is required. "We cannot postpone this issue any longer. Have you finally decided what sacrifice to make before your Lord?" Quincy asked. Taethion looked dead into his Grandfather's eyes and after many years of thought spoke, "I will make the Oath of Celibacy." He spoke daring and without a hint of hesitation. Quincy looked at the boy that is about to reach his years of growth into an young man. He could tell he was undeterred and truly devoted to this oath, there was nothing he could do to change his mind. "Fine then, you understand once this Sacred Vow is completed, you here by renounce any longings for the Flesh and also forbid yourself from marriage and romance?" Quincy asked sternly. "I do." Taethion responded. "Since you know the Code of Conduct then let us commence this sacred ceremony." Quincy spoke as Taethion would proceed to do what is necessary as he made this sacred pact with his Lord, The God of the Sun, Dedarius. His mind then returned back to the present as he looked at the half-Naiad. "I apologize if I seemed strange at that moment. Thank you for telling me this great news." He spoke with a smile as he regained his composure.
It was quite odd as he seemed to have a moment right as he looked at her. She had seen a lot looks on men's faces before but his was a new one. Still, he seemed to regain his composure after that odd moment. "I am happy to offer whatever help I can before you go, seeing as your journey will likely bring plenty of risk."
Taethion bowed his head towards the Alchemist. "Your offer is most generous, thank you. I am sure we can use all the help we can get." He spoke with a smile. "Well I'm sure they have need of me outside. Thank you once again." He spoke with another bow of his head as he exited the hut.
