“Ah, tha’ be because they all used to be champions, lad. Each one of them used to hold the top spot in the arena here in the city. This be a retirement for them tha’ wants it, they work for five hours and get to split half of what the house takes in for the night, which is a very pretty gold indeed. Now, a toast,” Grimgar said, changing the topic as he stood and hoisted his mug. “To Stacia, who has gone into the world and come back again. Ye first hunt was successful as ye fought alongside ye friends. Friends and family be wha’ life be all about, and ye seem to have found a real good friend.”
They drank to his toast before Stacia stood up, holding her own mug which she had filled with mead. “A toast, to me family who even with reservations allowed me to go on me first hunt with me master Alburet. Also to me master Alburet, he who is showin’ me the world in many ways. I ha’ been blessed to ha’ meet ya and have had ya take me…” She trailed off with a wink at him as she tilted her mug for a drink.
Almira and Lilith giggled at her ending before drinking with her. Alburet drank, only too aware of the eyes of Stewart, Grimgar and Alistern burrowing into him. The evening was filled with truly good food that would have been at home in any of the very best restaurants on Earth. Conversation was mostly stories from the others at the table, recalling their adventures together before they had settled down in Stormguard after the death of Alistern’s father had left him the family inn.
Eventually the meal came to an end with Almira, Grimgar and Stewart the first to leave as a group. Fluffball stood up a few minutes later, “I thank you for inviting me to dinner with your friends and family.” Fluff bowed to Alistern and Lilith before she started for the door.
Lilith called out to her, catching Fluff by the door, “Dear, you are welcome at our inn any time. My daughter has taken a liking to you and considers you a friend. On top of that the one she calls master holds a spot for you in his heart. It was a pleasure to have met you, and I hope to see you again.”
Fluffball blinked, her face pinking before she bowed again, “Thank you, Lilith.”
“Oh, and if you ever want to talk about your troubles I might be able to help with that. We shall save that conversation for a more private moment, though. I wish you a pleasant night.”
Fluffball gulped and hastily groomed an ear, leaving the room a moment later. Alistern got to his feet, his eyes going to Alburet, “Me daughter seems smitten with ya. I will only say it once more; iffin ya hurt her I will pay ya back with interest.” He took Lilith by the hand and led her out of the room.
Alburet watched the couple go before he got to his feet, taking Stacia’s hand, “We should head home for the night as well.”
“As ya wish, master,” Stacia said as she took his arm.
Alburet
Human Summoner
Level 15
Strength: 20
Agility: 20
Constitution: 25
Intelligence: 46
Wisdom: 50
Charisma: 30
Health: 1000
Mana: 1250
Spells:
Demon Skin-Rank 2
Demonic Retribution- Rank 2
Summon Least Imp
Fire Blast- Rank 2
Sap Strength
Demonic Haze
Summon Lesser Destroyer
Demonic Vitality
Fire Burst
Abilities:
Personal Spells
Flame Weapon
1 Ability to train; see your trainer
Orc Village
After waking up and enjoying breakfast with Stacia, Alburet told her he would be back shortly as he had to see Stewart about training his ability. Making his way down the stairs, he found one of Stacia’s sisters behind the bar. “Morning. Is Stewart in the deep dark hall?” Alburet asked.
Stacia’s sister looked him up and down with pursed lips for a second before shaking her head, “I think I can see what she does in you, but no he isn’t. He just stepped out the front door. He may be sitting on the bench we keep outside, he does that sometimes.”
Alburet smirked at her first sentence before shaking his head. It was bad enough that Stacia, Karen and Fluffball all seemed interested in him as it was, so he was glad Stacia's sister didn't throw herself at him too. He thanked her offhandedly as he made his way to the door, his mind considering the women issues he had. Karen was fine, she would be a decent person to fight with who maybe wanted action on the side at times. Stacia seemed obsessed to a degree that he couldn’t figure out. Even she couldn’t really put it into words. Lastly, there was Fluffball. If he wasn’t a condemned man who was sentenced to live the rest of his life as a VR experiment he might have tried to get closer to her. As it was he felt a connection to her as she was the shy type he liked to mold to his own desires. Plus being into anime as much as he was, he thought. Over all though, if he was going to hook up with anyone Stacia was probably the best bet. He doubted his past would phase her or cause her problems and hell, he was probably going to be here for a few years anyway.
Stewart glanced at Alburet as he came out the door, “Morning, Alburet.”
Alburet shook his head to clear his rambling thoughts before greeting Stewart. “Morning, Stewart. I was hoping to train my next ability this morning before heading out for another hunt. Oh, curious as well if you might know why Stacia doesn’t have a class. You’ve known the family since before she was born, so I thought you might have a clue.”
Stewart frowned, “No, none of us do. We’ve tried a lot of different things and sources to get more information. As for training, yes, but it means going once more down into the pit.” He got to his feet stretching, watching the sun light brighten the day. “Are you taking Stacia with you again?”
“Probably,” Alburet replied, “I’ll leave that up to her, though. Even though she calls me master it’s not as if actually own her. I have not purchased her, collared her or placed a compulsion on her. As such I will not order her to risk her life, slim though that risk may be, to accompany me.”
“I’ve been wondering about that. She has never shown such focused intent on a man before you came along and while you are unusual, more than just being two-souled, you don’t seem to possess anything that would explain her intense feelings. How and why did she begin to call you by that title, if I may ask?” Stewart asked as the duo began to trek down into the bowels of the earth under the inn.
Alburet gave him a very brief rundown of the night that led up to her asking to call him by that title. “So with all that said, I don’t know why she was intent on that title either.”
Frowning, Stewart took his seat as they arrived at his desk, “Very unusual. I shall have to ask a few people who owe me favors to see if they can get me any information from greater beings than us mere mortals. As for your ability choices this level, the two you passed by the first time are still available as well as the next two. I can’t wait to see what you take this time.”
Alburet looked down at the book Stewart had opened and placed before him. He could still take Infernal Fire for 10% more fire damage, which might mean for the flame weapon as well. The other was the one he wouldn’t take, Heavenly Summoner. The first new ability was Ranged Fire Burst, it made his Fire Burst spell go from the twenty foot explosion centered on himself to one he could toss out up to a hundred feet away. The last option he had for this level was Demon Copy. It would let him summon an exact copy of one of his demons for half again the mana cost it normally took to summon the demon and both the original and copy each ended up with 75% of the normal stats of the original.