Thunk

Thunk

Thunk

It was early in the morning, the sun was preparing to ascend above the horizon, creating a soft glow within the forest.

Sarah and Raelith were standing a small distance away, their back to the cart. Sarah was staring at a tree 20 yards away, in her hands were a number of knives, each one nothing more than a sharpened piece of sheet metal.

Since stopping just before sunrise, Raelith had caught a few rabbits for breakfast. The thinking was, if they were in a forest rich with food, why would they waste their normal rations which could last for months?

When Raelith separated with the group to hunt for breakfast, she brought Sarah with her. Tobias had watched them disappear into the forest but said nothing.

When they returned half an hour later, Raelith was verbally instructing Sarah about the specifics of knife throwing. Aiming, speed, rotations. Sarah listened intently, not wanting to miss a word. She had watched Raelith accurately pierce the necks of scurrying rabbits with these knives. If she could learn how to do the same, it would not doubt be an incredible skill.

“But remember. I have had hundreds of years to practice these skills.” Raelith reminded, but Sarah was already intensely focused, attempting to strike a makeshift target Raelith had carved into the trunk of the tree.

Everyone else watched on curious. This was especially so when Raelith would throw some as an example. Tobias smiled wryly, he could throw knives fairly accurately, it was one of those things you just pick up over time. But as he watched Raelith use the least amount of movement and energy to accurately pierce even the smallest of targets, the difference between them was too much. It was like comparing the sword skills of a child to those of a veteran soldier.

Noone watched along carefully, using his divine sense to observe every movement she made. Each twitch of muscle and miniscule shift in balance was noticed by him, but even he felt that he would be unable to accurately recreate her skills without years of effort.

“It is only because she is a weapons expert first, that she is so skilled.” Sally spoke to Feylin, both watching the two train while they ate. “A skill like that is purely offensive. As a Cleric, we have no need for such techniques at that level. Being able to protect ourselves and heal others is our charge as the foundations of the Order of Life.” It seemed there were unspoken words which were hidden, and she chose to keep to herself.

Tobias nodded. “That is mostly true. You will see in a few months when we join up with the Cinapul army at Stone-Eye.” The way he said ‘Stone-eye’ Felt forced, mixed with bitter memories of what happened at the start of this assignment. “The clerics like you and Sally and Rae will be charged with healing and protecting the injured. As a paladin I will most likely be assigned to help at the front, organizing units to transport the injured to the medical centers.” Feylin nodded in response, he couldn’t help but feel that this would be the first time he would see what it really meant to be a member in the Order of Life.

“And… what about Sarah? And Noone?” Feylin asked. He couldn’t help but feel the way he asked ‘and Noone’ made it too obvious that Noone was an afterthought. However, no one said anything.

“Sarah…” Tobias paused, thinking. “Although she is travelling with us, technically she is no longer a member of our Order. I suppose it’s up to her. There will definitely be a use for her on the frontlines, and because this is a conjoined effort of various factions to uproot the drow, she will definitely be able to find others she can join with if she wants to… Or she could go her own way, and not get involved at all.” The paladin shrugged. “The oath of vengeance is an… aggressive path.” Tobias continued. “But more on an individual scale. Although any Paladins’ battle prowess can be tremendous on a battlefield, ultimately it is not what her class is meant for. It’s not like the war paths.” Feylin nodded, taking the time to internalize every word.

When he spoke, Tobias did not bother to lower his voice and Sarah had heard what he said. She grit her teeth and managed to sink one of the knives completely into the tree, creating a loud thunk.

No one said anything, and eventually Tobias cleared his throat.

“As for Noone.” Noone looked at Tobias, making eye contact. “I honestly have no idea. Since we are supposed to deliver you to the Grand Cinapul Temple… it wouldn’t really be right to have you join. However, the other factions may not see it that way. Worst comes to worst I can involve the grand-priest to write out an allowance for you that they will have to listen to.” Noone nodded his head, and then closed his eyes continuing to absorb the threads in his surroundings.

The energy he gained from each thread was basically negligible at this point, however Noone’s strengthened divine sense allowed him to absorb more than just one at a time, counteracting the miniscule amount of energy by a bit.

“Alright. Five minutes before we leave.” Tobias stood up groaning a bit as he stretched his arms and legs, preparing for another full-days walk. “Ugh. I just keep getting older.” He mumbled to himself. Noone couldn’t help but pause his absorption to look at Tobias.

The towering beast of a man was indeed starting to show his age a bit. He had bleach white hair and an intense beard. His face and flesh were tanned and leathery, wrinkling around the eyes and mouth. Despite all this though Noone would never underestimate Tobias. The way he carried himself, and his battle axe, someone would have to be a fool to underestimate such a man.

Noone thought about what Tobias had said. Obviously Noone had never seen a battlefield before, however he couldn’t help but feel it would be a good place to hone his strength. Since arriving at the surface, he had experienced combat twice. Noone quickly realized that no matter what his inherent strength was at, he would quickly become outclassed by those with more experience.

“Maybe I should ask Raelith to train me?” Noone thought. He glanced at Rae who was coaching Sarah. “Or maybe…” Noone looked towards Tobias.

They were around the same height and build, Noone’s body was younger and more muscular, but Tobias wore his mass with an intensity even Noone couldn’t match. Tobias noticed Noone looking at him and glanced back. Noone looked away. Maybe I will bring it up later.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, everyone had become absorbed by the gentle sounds and light of a mid-day forest.

Noone took in his surroundings with a subtle smile on his lips. He never imagined there could be so many trees or foliage. Everything here was so different from Tapestry and the area at western edge of the world.

And to think this was only a corner of the world available to him now…

“I wonder… Where Adria is…” Noone’s eyes were calm but underneath there was a malevolent light. He would never let the injustice of Tapestry go, and at some point, he would need to find Adria and figure out what really happened. I hope she’s okay.

Noone had thought about bringing her up to the party, seeing if any of them might know something. But the more Noone learned about how big the world is, the more he realized he would have a horribly hard time finding her. The only thing he could do know was get stronger, and hope.

If he got strong enough… she would find him.