Path of the Pioneers

To my surprise, my rest was quite good after the events of the day before. Receiving enough attention and intimacy to turn my brain to mush ten times over was still something I could recover from.

Adeline was the one to stir me awake this time around. She was already wearing her traveling garb, a long-sleeved linen shirt with a rather dashing cape that wrapped around her left shoulder, hanging lower on her right side. Her trousers were the same old pair, but she had bought another pair in the city just in case of an emergency of some sort.

I rubbed my eyes, forcing myself out of the bed. It hadn’t gotten any easier during my time in Tirsollain, in spite of my hopes. 

The clothes I had purchased for myself were rather simple. As Adeline had, I purchased a few spare sets of trousers and shirts, not to mention undergarments. My robes, which I had worn since settling in Gallwold, were replaced by a nicely-woven cloak that reached down to my elbows.

After dressing myself, the two of us set out from the room, and into the heart of Tirsollain once more.

Unlike our previous traipses through the city in the last few days, Adeline guided me through the streets with a clear aim. We passed through several buildings, working our way deeper into the back of the city. After fifteen minutes or so of following Adeline, I saw what she intended to bring me to.

The buildings thinned out, the cavern ceiling beginning to slope downward. But the paved road kept going out, widening slightly as it did. The area beyond was empty, save for live willow trees. Waterways ran on the sides of the road, flowing with water that seemed to be coming from the direction the road was going.

“This is the emptiest spot in the city.” Adeline spoke up, turning to me, “I usually come here to test out my weapons. Without aura, of course. I don’t think I could set those trees on fire, but it’d be unwise to try and find out.”

I laughed, walking a little more until I was beside the trees. “Do you mean to put them to the test here, then?”

Adeline followed beside me, “Test them? Of course. But in a different manner..” She put a hand on my shoulder, “We’re also going to test out that new skill of yours.” She kept walking further down the street, until there was a few meters of distance between us. “Use everything you’ve got, Sybil! Except for the lethal ones.”

Adeline held one of the Fangs, scabbard and all, standing in a stance primed for combat. I had a feeling she was going to come at me far harder than our previous bouts.

I unstrapped Tanascáil from my hip, leaving its sheath on.

I tried activating [Aesthesia], feeling my senses focus in on everything around me. It was an odd sensation, especially so when I hadn’t spent half an hour working myself into it. 

Seeing that I was as ready as I could be, Adeline rushed down the street towards me, her sword, as ever, held below her hip. I didn’t do much in response, just holding up my dagger and readying my free hand to cast [Barrier] if needed. I held my focus on [Aesthesia], waiting for her to enter its range.

It felt incredibly strange as she entered the skill’s range. I was perfectly aware of her presence within it, down to every last detail. Even if I were to close my eyes, I was confident that I would be able to sense her. 

Adeline lunged forward towards me, stabbing her blade through the air with startling alacrity, mercilessly aimed towards my skull. She had used her right foot to lunge at me, with her left placed ahead to keep herself steady. I ducked down, weaving towards her left side.

Her left hand was still free, so it had been a gamble to dive towards it. Still, I was hoping to be able to bait her into acting.

I felt as she closed her hand into a fist, driving it through the air towards me. I lifted my hand to intercept it, casting [Barrier]. I made it as small as I could, condensing its mana until it was as sturdy as it could be. A concentrated wall of energy appeared, about half the size of a tea saucer. Adeline’s fist crashed right into it with all of her strength.

The barrier cracked slightly, but it was able to stop her. Her fist, that is. I didn’t have any allusions about it being able to stand up to her swords.

A pained groan passed her lips, and her fist loosened up. She jumped away from me only moments after, leaving me with no time to take advantage of the opening I had created.

Adeline winced in pain as she held her hand limply at her waist. In spite of that, she was grinning. “If you made that thing any smaller it might have put a dent in my hand, Sybil.”

I stood up straight, slightly concerned, “Are you.. Alright?”

She took on her stance once again, “I still have one more hand, don’t I? It’ll just have to do enough for two. Just a little more, that’s all I ask.” With that, Adeline charged once more towards me. 

After she entered [Aesthesia]’s range, she swung towards me. Instead of going for my head or torso, though, she swung low. The sword was going right for my upper legs. I would have to block the sword, or dive to the ground. I just wasn’t agile enough to crouch down that low quickly enough.

 With my right hand, I swung out with Tanascáil, while I cast [Barrier] with my left. Even with the reduced impact from the barrier, I felt as if my wrist might snap from taking a direct blow from Adeline. It was heavy, enough to send a tingling spike up to my shoulder. The barrier had been shattered by her attack, but I had weathered it nonetheless.

With my hands occupied blocking her attack, she would have been free to finish me off with an attack from her right hand. I would have been doomed if I hadn’t taken that from her.

I cast [Telekinesis], sending out threads of mana to envelop her sword. At the very least to aid me in keeping her locked down. I used every bit of strength that the skill would allow me to keep the sword locked in place, it helped the slightest amount, which was all I could truly ask of the skill all things considered.

The blade waivered slightly as she tried to free it from the grasp of [Telekinesis], and I made my move. I drove my hand out, trying to touch her with it to secure my victory. Before it could reach her, Adeline jerked her sword free, snapping the threads of mana that bound it.

Taking advantage of my surprise, she began a relentless barrage of attacks. They came out with far more speed than before, each one threatening to crumble my meager defenses. I tried relying on Tanascáil to block as much as I could, but it felt as if my grip may just give in after taking too many blows from her.

“Use your dagger as close to the hilt as you can when parrying.” She threw out another strong swing, which I just barely managed to block with another combined effort from [Barrier] and my dagger. “You’re trying to lock up my blade, so that you can run me through.”

From the left and from the right, swinging high and low, her moves were unpredictable and wild. As the fight drew on, those swings were also getting faster. She was tremendously strong with just one sword, so I shuddered at the thought of her wielding two. It wasn’t even a guarantee that she was giving it her all yet.

Even if I could sense everything she was doing, it didn’t mean that I would be able to react in time. She was far quicker and far stronger than me. I was getting tired, as well. I had spent maybe half of my mana in my fervent defense against Adeline’s frenzy. Not to mention the physical exertion of contesting with her.

I sent out more threads from my hand, casting [Telekinesis] through them. They snaked their way towards her right leg, attempting to grab at it. Her focus shifted for a moment towards it.

Again, I cast [Telekinesis]. Threads coiled around my right arm and wrist, and I lunged towards her with Tanascáil. [Telekinesis] aided in speeding up the stabbing motion, with my feet mostly being used to close the distance between us. My arm flared up in pain from tugging on it so suddenly with the skill, but the dagger had nearly made contact.

Just as the sheath rested above the skin of her neck, she smiled. To my side, her sword was held at my neck.

My focus on [Aesthesia] had slipped, without me even realizing.

Adeline began putting her sword back on her hip, a smile still on her face. “You did exceptionally well, Sybil. Especially for a mage. I bet you could even beat the Grivash boy.”

I wasn’t sure how to take that. It was nice to know I was capable of besting him, but it also felt rather odd.

“And that trick with your barrier? Gods, that’s a pain. My left’s gonna be out of commission for a couple of days.” She rolled her shoulder, wincing again as she took another look at her hand. A hearty bruise was starting to develop on her knuckles.

“S-sorry about that..” I put Tanascáil back on my hip, “I.. Didn’t expect it to be quite so effective.”

Adeline rushed over to me, “Sorry?” She put an arm around me, pulling me in close. “Sybil, why would you be sorry? I’ve hit you plenty of times. Besides, you shouldn’t apologize for doing well.” 

“It just.. Seems like it hurt?” Even I knew how dumb that answer sounded, but I was still awash with concern.

Adeline laughed, “Exactly! You hurt me!” She lifted my hat up slightly, brushing my hair to the side as she put a hand on my face. “You have a truly shocking amount of talent. And I’m going to make certain that every ounce of it is utilized.” She leaned down, planting a kiss on my forehead. I bit the inside of my mouth as heat rushed to my cheeks.

She pulled away from me, rubbing my shoulder as she did, “Right, we’d best be off! There are a few more things to prepare before we leave tomorrow.”