Normally during a long spar with Korbin, I felt more than comfortable in finding my pocket, timing, spacing, all the good stuff required to win a real fight. Mostly because it didn't matter what I did for the longest time, I'd still lose due to skill and strength gaps. However, for some reason this time around felt…off. I'm not sure how to describe it other than that my body felt out of sync, like it wasn't somewhere I should be quite honestly.
As we got going, my movements felt restricted, my muscles tensing involuntarily before making a move, effectively stunning myself. Maybe it was from having been in front of a slew of students. Perhaps the fact every fight I'd had up until today was to the death, causing me to worry I might accidentally hurt my friend. The worst possibility, one I hadn't considered until after training, was the fact he'd beat me at the fucking tournament. There's no question it lingered in my mind, it's part of why I'm so damn driven to get stronger as soon as possible.
Due to the aforementioned list of bullshit excuses, most of the early spar was a major struggle. My strikes felt an half step behind, leaving every exchange hurt without paying it forward.Not even my guard was sound, often swaying away from protecting anything important. After a few exchanges, Korbin's faced reddened as if he hadn't won every single one.
"What's goin' on? You think you're fuckin' special all of the sudden?!" Korbin bursted out angrily, dropping his stance now just standing with his hands on the air.
"Huh? No, what are you talking about?" I asked, puzzled.
"It sure as shit looks like you do. You're not even doing the basic shit to get openings, you're just flopping around like you're gods gift to earth. A straight here, kick there, and no guard. Like you're just so much faster than me. Honestly, two Pylons and now you're just untouchable now or something?!" Korbin bellowed clearly upset, thinking I'm somehow on some ego trip.
"Korbin I'm telling you, that's not it. I don't feel right with my flow right now man, honestly." I said, trying to defuse his frustration. It made sense, if someone just acted too good for me I'd be mad too. Issue was, I felt the opposite.
"It's not nothing, you didn't just forget how to fucking fight me." He persisted.
"No dude just, fuckin'…give me a minute. I need to meditate." I said, heading for the training room panel. Pulling up the prompt and ending the session, I left without a word to anyone as I left toward the docks. Something was off today, and I needed to sort it out before I had any hope of meaningful growth anytime soon.
Finding my favorite spot at the end of the docks overlooking where the waves break, I settled down my nerves and entered Flow Meditation. Reviewing the spar, absolutely nothing felt right. I hadn't even looked for Korbin's Flow. I threw no feigns or grabs, just basic straights and kicks. Like I'd expected to just one shot the guy.
Why?
There was no lack of training, nor any long break in which I'd accumulate lost muscle memory or weaker conditioned bones. There wasn't any time in which either of us really did anything fancy or new during our spar either. My form throwing the simple few strikes I had was ok, sloppy but not looking under developed. So what exactly was holding me back?
Reviewing the fight closer, a recurring feeling caught my attention with each exit from lob-sided exchanges consistently ending in Korbin's favor. It wasn't any of the good bubbly kind I got in the heat of a real teeth-gnashing battle. Rather, an uncomfortable ache would overtake my bones. Like an emptiness of intent channeled throughout my body. Sure losing always felt more than just possible, arguably inevitable. I knew I'm plenty capable of doing real damage too but, all the same my past failures to beat him apparently struck a nerve that froze my fighter spirit. I was actually scared.
The issue with being scared and capable however, is much like holding a loaded gun in a crisis. If you're frantically terrified, you're really, really dangerous to those around you. If you're calm though, you can be the difference maker, maybe even the victor and keeper of the peace when it's said and done. Of course, that requires an understanding of yourself and your abilities, one that had momentarily slipped as doubts reared their ugly head in my subconscious. As I came to terms with my moment of weakness, a deep knot that had slowly taught deep in my stomach…relaxed.
Much like a good stretch loosening a sore muscle just right, only it was at the pit of my gut below any muscle tissue. My mind sought to dig deeper, to chase this soothing sensation, when a familiar voice made me leap from meditation, nearly falling off the docks.
"What up killer!" Steve hollered in my head, having swam right up to me and emerging without making a single splash.
"Fucking hell Steve, how are you so large yet so damn quiet?" I asked, laughing at myself for jumping.
"Don't matter, snakes be sneaky, I couldn't show you if I wanted to. Anyways, you ready to take your favorite beast hunting?" Steve said in a rather giddy tone. Many would consider it shallow, even inhumane to celebrate such an inclination for violence. To me, he just offered the kid in me to play basketball outside on a Saturday morning.
Issue is, I'd been pretty bad during the school week.
"I'm going to be honest man, I made a promise I'd stick around until this ship guy finished his job and, I also have some explaining to do to a friend. Why don't you hunt solo today man?" I said, pain shooting through my chest declining a day of wonderful combat and experience farming.
Steve looked at me as if I'd just spoken a foreign language before his head relaxed, flicking to the side mimicking a shrug.
"Suit yourself. I'll just level your profession myself like a good little beast." He joked, patting his own head with his tail. Easily the hardest laugh I'd had in a minute seeing a giant snake pet itself.
"Thanks, I'm gonna need that imagery to keep me smiling while I sit here, bored. Have fun my man. Don't die or whatever." I said, putting a fist out to see how he'd react. Steve looked at it like a challenge before his eyes lit up with an 'a-ha' moment. His tail wrapped around before slowly tapping my knuckles. Steve was absolutely glowing with pride having deciphered the offer.
"That's what's up. Okay, I'll see you later Tommy." He said, diving down and taking off to grow in the best way possible.
"Don't start calling me that!" I yelled out.
Headed back to the training yard, Korbin was no longer with the group of trainees. Instead, they were doing some old school shadow sparring, no system made magic wooden sparring partners needed. All any martial artist truly needed was themselves, their mind, and their body all in concert to create and defeat your perfect opponent. You just have to know your strengths and weaknesses well enough to essentially exploit yourself mentally as an opponent, for the sake of learning. After reveling in a little nostalgia eating shit fighting air a few times back in the day, I headed for Korbin's office where I found him discussing something with Cassi. R-…it was casually sitting on his desk cleaning its rotten furs, growling gutturally at the sight of me.
"Ohhh, if it ain't Superman himself!" Korbin announced, tracking Randy's attention.
"Hey, I actually came to talk about that." I said, honestly. Cassi looked at me with concern in her eyes, something again I doubted she wore often.
"Good, what the fuck was that?"
After explaining my little mini breakthrough regarding being essentially too scared to fight, it took a second for Korbin to track. Only after the 'panicked with a loaded gun' analogy for being capable yet doubtful did he seem to pick up what I'd been dealing with.
"I'll be honest, that's not something I've experienced before but, it makes sense. You think you're gonna be all nervous now?" He asked, his anger replaced with genuine curiosity.
"No, no that's not going to happen again. I won't let it." I dismissed assertively, frustration with myself leaking into my tone. Cassi smiled at the subtle vow of courage.
"Well, too bad we won't know today. We got some conquesting to plan!" Korbin said, clapping his hands and rubbing them turning back toward the large partially filled in war table that definitely wasn't here last time.
"When did you get this?" I asked.
"Hm? Oh, the new guys that came in today brought enough info for me to finally buy this thing. Oh yeah, we got like 6 more settlers coming here tomorrow. More and more will funnel in from there as they're arriving from differing locations but, we won't need to be here once we can automate these things with a few well contracted guards. And Randy, of course." He said, speaking entirely to fast to keep up. I merely stood there, staring blankly at him.
"Tell you what Tom, how about we finish this up since we've just about got our ducks in order here, you go check in with everybody's progress on their professions. Especially Ben, he's the ship-maker. Great guy but he's been having 'issues' getting his models afloat." Korbin suggested in detail, clearly wanting me to leave. This entire meeting felt out of my circle of interest anyhow, which is why I left the boring tactical scheming session without a word. From what I could tell, that sort of thing played into Korbin's class. As for me however, not my pony, not my race.
Heading back out to the settlement from the Korbin's office, a familiar harsh metallic slamming coming sparked the first of my friends I decided to bother hoping to curve my boredom, Lonni. He was smashing a big rectangular hammer down on a long cylindrical shaped molten hot steel that glowed a bright orange. All around him were chains and broken links, attached to differing grips at varying lengths. He looked completely at one with his work, wearing a wide smile on his grease, dirt and dust covered face as he toiled away.
"Hey Lonni! How goes the Smithing life my man?" I asked, gesturing for a fist bump. He smiled, dropping his hammer gently beside him to oblige the gesture.
"Tom my boy, it's doin' damn good my friend. I finally had my first real breakthrough today!" He said excitedly, turning to grab something from his desk behind him. Spinning back, a flail that looked pretty damn nice lay in his hands. The pommel was studded on its edges, the weighted spike ball looking completely oversized and way too damn heavy for most anyone to functionally wield. Lonni's definitely stronger than most pairs people though, I had no doubt it was perfect for him.
"You make this?!" I said, smiling in a very pleasantly surprised higher pitch.
"Damn right, it's a common rarity but, just check this out." He said, grabbing the weapon and swinging the flail around his head with ease.
"Now, this was something I did on accident. But if I build the chains connecting the hilt to the weight here with enough intent to replicate that magic, and feel for the same clicks that triggered when it happened, then it becomes real easy to just," he explained, before flicking his arm forward mid swing.
His flail's giant spiked ball flew through the air like the world's most dangerous fishing line, extending out over 10 feet before abruptly freezing mid-air as Lonni jerked his arm down. The spiked steel shot down to the ground slamming dirt and chunky earth debris everywhere. Then he lifted his wrist, the chain reeling in the weight quickly before stopping at its original length. I struggled to keep my jaw from slamming onto the ground.
"How the fuck did you just do that dude?!" I questioned like a kid seeing a pro skater pull a trick in person. That was honestly the coolest thing I'd seen Lonni do, and we fought a real big and scary boss dog that turned into a shadow together already. Ideas for my own twinblade whirled through my head seeing the potential in replicating this ability with my twinblade. However, they all came to an abrupt halt once Lonni further explained the nature of his capabilities.
"Right now, it only works like that because I have a skill for fails that does that in general. However, I know I can make that work on its own as a function of a weapon pre-built in. I just have to keep grinding, keep learning… was there anything you needed from me by the way?" He asked now, looking eager to get back to work.
"Oh, no not at all my guy. Just wanted to check in is all, keep up the good work." I said, but I did have one question before I left.
"Hey by the way, Korbin doesn't have you cooking things up just for trades sake already, does he?" I asked, curious if everyone was actually pulling their weight.
"Oh for sure, since day one I was throwing shitty armor at him to sell. Most folks don't have the 150 to even get clean clothes, much less get armor at a discounted rate at their own Pylons. It's simple supply and demand Tom?" He finished with a giggle, clearly assuming I knew Korbin's been doing this.
"Ohh, duh, how could I forget?" I said, lightly slapping my forehead.
"Anyway, have fun buddy." I said with a wave, now quickly strutting toward Terra's alchemy lab to avoid any further questioning. Was it annoying Lonni was more in the loop than me? Sure, a little. Though he also struck me as the inquisitive type if he caught an interest in something, and Korbin certainly knew how to make his schemes interesting. Me on the other hand, have made it clear I didn't really care about the details. It just didn't pertain to me.
Besides, I wouldn't mind checking in on Terra's progress as our settlement Alchemist. With any luck, I could get my hands on something good to use in or after battle. I assumed potions would function similarly to how they always had in video games; restore a resource pool here, boost a stat or ability there. Something damn good for a rather abrasive traveler like myself.
Entering the building, a miasma of unrecognizable odors invaded my sinuses almost instantly, my head feeling a bit lighter after a few seconds. Terra was in the room down, mixing glowing liquids with laser focus. Not wanting to intrude, I studied her movement.
Her hands were as still as a brain surgeons while dropping the smallest amount of a wriggling deep green liquid, large clouds of blue and red mana puffing up as it impacted her concoction. Terra's hand quickly waved over the liquid, where it began parting and shifting in odd directions. Small bubbly explosions popped within the mixture with every swish.
Finally, after repeating this process a few times, she leaped her large vat of odd liquids with a thick metallic lid and stood in front of it. Both her hands rose as she focused intently with her eyes shut. The pots loud gurgling shook the lid as foul smelling multi colored smoke escaped from the gaps in the rattling lid. Finally, after inching toward the exit in preparation of an explosion, it settled. Terra took a ladle and filled a couple red jagged glass bottles full of her new creation, smiling with sweat beading from her head and face.
She noticed me before I could speak, flinching and nearly dropping all of her elixirs clearly not expecting visitors. Looking slightly miffed at having been spooked, she placed her elixirs down before signaling wordlessly to meet in the hallway. Obliging, I waited by the door where she met me accordingly.
"Hey, what's up? You guys need something?" She asked, a tinge of nerves in her tone.
"No not at all, just wanted to check in and see how you're holding up." I answered, trying to sound as caring as I could muster while totally lying through my teeth having just been bored. She sighed, clearly considering actually venting to me.
"…nothing really. The guys are just different right now. This alchemy stuff is great for clearing my head since it fills it with so much foreign knowledge on shit that didn't exist until a week ago. I don't know, just trying to figure out where we stand." She said, not even looking at me as she did. I knew that stare though.
"…you mean where you stand?" I asked. Terra blinked rapidly considering my words for quite a while before nodding in agreement.
"As far as I'm concerned? It's undecided, if I'm going to be honest. But that's because you haven't decided yet, not necessarily because anyone here allocated a set value to you. Besides, no value's permanent anyway, just like cars and shit back in the day. Same goes for your friends, but that doesn't mean their value's nulled because it's changed." I explained, now half-speaking to myself at the moment. She appeared to appreciate the sentiment, with a smile I'd yet to see since we'd met.
"Anyhow, what's with those smelly drinks? I'm a Beast Tamer so, the whole 'working' thing is still novel." I said, earning a disappointed grin.
"Okay freeloader, if you're going to pester." She laughed, grabbing one from her desk and bringing it over to me. The glass felt incredibly thick, like I could slam it into the floor without risk of breaking it. Though, it felt incredibly rude to test now, especially if I'm wrong.
"These are basic health potions. If you have the Identify skill, you can check their rarity but I'll tell you up front right now; my best is common. I made a lot of inferior rank potions too but, Korbin had me sell all of them to contracted traders that stopped through here the last few days. Great TP though, got me a lot of solid ingredients to work with."
Curious, I used Identify anyways to see the one she'd shown me.
[Health Potion (common)]
"It heals about 30 health on average, though some do 34, others 25. It's tough to get a consistent potency yet." She explained, seeing me inspect the bottle.
"Is there…any way I can get a few off you myself? I'm good for it." I said, tapping my pockets.
"Take 3, from what I hear you're gonna need it soon." She said, before handing them over to me, my many pant pocket's able to hold them easily.
"Appreciate that. Well hey, let me get out of your hair for a bit. I got a few others I need to check on before the day's through." I said, our chat reminding of our dreaded Zach. I wonder how he's is doing…
"Of course! The least I can do. Don't hesitate to stop by though…you're a good guy Tom. Scary sometimes, but good." She said, oddly reassuringly. Not sure what I did to deserve that but, I'll take it.
"Thanks, I appreciate you for that, really. Have a good one, Terra." I said with a wave, headed for Zach's little tinkering garage at the corner of town. It definitely was a 'town' now at least, having officially accrued a higher population of faces I didn't recognize living here than I did. Honestly, wherever these people came from I cared very little, but the staring as I walked by is just obnoxious. It's just a Lightning infused twinblade, after all, it's not even activated.
Zach's shop was absolutely disheveled, a shanty decorated in strange mechanisms and gizmos scattered along the tables, floors, and hung from the ceiling on chains. Zach was shoulder deep in some trap when I knocked on the wall, his head crashing onto the metal he leaned into before exiting.
"Oh, it's you. Need something?" He sneered, rubbing his head.
"Just checking in on my favorite fuck up. How goes the artificer role?" I asked in an uncaring monotone.
"Honestly? I love it. I've created mines so sneaky not even a bee could distinguish them from a flower I tell yuh! I'm just getting started on some underwater mines per request of the boss man Korbin himself." He said, now full of jubilance as he spoke.
Underwater mines? Hold up…
"That sounds like pretty intense stuff. Zach. Quick question, how long have you been working at this stuff?" I probed.
"Mmm, pretty much since I got the profession." He answered.
"Have you like, sparred or, taken a day off to get some relaxation in or…bathe?" I asked, my voice trailing off at the end trying to hold my breath as his odor wafted over.
"No, not really. I mean, how else could I get to level 5 in my profession? I got to get these mines ready for commission if I'm gonna hit 6 before this wave hits today."
"Today?! Why is no one worried?!" I asked, confused at the lack urgency around the settlement.
"Pfft, cause it's a joke. Nothing's getting in here, we hardly need to be present for this place to stay up and running." He said, slapping his building wall with reverence.
"If you say so, Korbin didn't seem worried either so…okay. Well you're fucking weird and so is doing all this shit which means you're probably in your element so, I'll leave you to it." I said, less willing to shoot the shit with shit. Okay, he's not 'shit' but he's definitely fucking odd, and no good in combat situations. Not to mention an utter reliability anywhere outside these settlement walls based on Lonni's reports.
"Sounds good, later sparky!" He yelled out as I closed his door, part of me wishing to kick back in and teach the little smart ass some manners. Of course, that's what insane people do, I thought, so we let that go. Besides, we had one more stop before hopefully linking up with Steve before nightfall.
Heading down the docks on the other side of my meditation spot sat Ben and his little workshop built over the water. His hands flew at untraceable speeds working meticulously hammering away at a decently sized vessel in construction. Not enough to carry an army or something, but definitely enough for a crew of 6-8 full sized adults and some goods. More than likely this was a job out of his professions capabilities at his level, and instead a pre-integration life skill he'd developed the old fashioned way.
"Hey! Ben, right?" Introducing myself as I approached his workplace.
"That'll be me. You must be Tom?" He said, shaking my hand vigorously. To his credit, he was older, probably in his mid 60's by appearance. He carried himself well, moving with the ease of a young man. something I wonder was also a product of old habits or newer system implemented capabilities.
"I am, I take it Korbin informed you I'd be here?" I said, an eyebrow raised. The man chuckled a bit.
"More like warned me, in case I don't get her up and sailing by sundown." He said, a little nervously.
"Well, it's looking pretty well along its way now?" I said, genuinely not having a clue how close to done this thing was.
"Well, hopefully yes. The last one looked even prettier, but functionality is God today." The man said, a smile forming across his cheeks. He hopped into the boat, placing his hands onto the wheel. His eyes shut, his body flexing hard as he began very clearly exerting himself, though I didn't know where.
From afar, he looked like he was trying to pull the wheel off and it wasn't budging. As I slowly stepped closer however, an aura of energy drifted from the man and his wheel, indicating he was doing something to his vessel. The boat shuddered like it had struck land, before tilting down in the back, the sound of wood splintering snapping through the air.
"Dammit, I overloaded the fucking stern with mana. This is going to take a couple hours to fix!" He yelled, tossing one of his tools across the room. Part of me wished to join him in frustration given I'd have to sit and wait until he finally got a ship running, but there was no reason for that right now. The persistent dings from experience shared off of Steve's hunts were popping all day, meaning no matter what I wasn't wasting my time too badly.
"Ben, listen man. Shits not easy out here, especially nowadays. But you really either get it done or don't, and we both know you're capable of both. But gettin' all worked up won't help you much."
Ben clearly looked poised to protest, however I gleaned he contained his anger as best as he could based on his twitching nostril. Maybe I struck a chord, but I really don't care. He's got a job, and everyone else is doing theirs, excelling in fact. Ben balled his fist breathing heavily while he paced around the room. Finally he sighed, his demeanor relaxed as his emotions simmered.
"Yeah, yeah I know. I'll get back to it, this shit just isn't the same as it used to be. I've built, destroyed, and repaired her 4 fucking times, it's this stupid attunement part I can't figure out." He vented in frustration.
"I mean, are you just attuning the boat to boating or something?" I asked, confused.
"No. I'm not. It's got to attune to the water, air, and its own wooden mana clashing with the auras of everyone aboard. This thing needs double the affection just to be able to float for sustained periods of time." He grunted through clinched teeth.
"Fair enough. Why don't you meditate on it for a little before you get right back to the grunt work again? Besides, trying the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of…" I said, my arms rolling over each other in the air to say 'finish the sentence'.
"'Insanity'. Thank you, very insightful." He grumbled sarcastically, his brow low.
"Seriously, sit and ponder not why what you've done doesn't work, but what feels like it might? As confident as you may be in how you did things before, I promise you there's a lot more nuance to just about everything I ever knew. I can't imagine it being very different because you make boats instead of lightning." I offered, before turning heels toward the exit. He clearly began at least considering my proposal, however the veil holding my selfish wishes to leave this place was quickly collapsing around me.
"I'm gonna bail, train a little. Just think about it, you got the rest of the day Benny-boo."
"Don't call me th-"
"Bye!!"
Leaving Ben to his devices, I headed for the training area, hoping to get my own platform again. Elation filled my chest seeing the trainees had cleared out, probably headed home to their new water Pylon Korbin's supposed to have moved today. Putting in the same settings As I had this mornings, I got back to it with fighting the dummy, only this time unarmed.
I wanted to get in touch with my fighting roots a little more. Besides, in the history of martial arts, unarmed forms and disciplines often derive from armed combat forms and practices. I'd lose little and gain plenty relevant practice at the very least. The dummy didn't surrender its own weapon however, making things much more interesting.
Every engagement required increased focus on the mannequin's Flow swiping and stabbing its dull wooden sword. Each time I'd land a Flow Inverse sending it off balance for the same Lightning Strike follow up I'd normally used with my twinblade, ending the fight instantly without fail. It got tiresome, leading to some experimentation as I strayed from the skill for a while.
See, I knew hitting Flow Points hurt to the extent of being potentially fatal based on the strikes location. However, what if the Flow was clumped in a spot by an outside force, or just all in one section at that time? In theory if you're accurate and fast enough, it could be pretty devastating, right?
Well, what felt like hundreds of Flow Inverses later, I'd still failed to land a normal strike on a created Flow Point short after. Each time I fought to remain disciplined, and fight the urge to rage. Through technique and patience, most of my abilities that got me where I am came to be in the first place. However, anger definitely lurked as each failure led to a bit more of that newfound inner tiredness. It didn't help the passive mana regeneration struggled to keep me above 10 mana points remaining.
Finally, my patience reached its absolute limit. Watching the faceless dummy regenerating its fragmented wooden head, I decided this time was the last 'attempt'. It had to fucking work, I knew there was something to this. It was right in front of me each time, Water Stance boosting my perception made the glimmer of white energy culminated in various locations on the mannequins body all the more visible. Shuffling away from its wide angled slash, my arm slammed into the pit of its elbow, sending the Flow through its arm across its chest.
The Flow had barely traveled to the center of the mannequins torso when my arm fired forward with a straight punch, eyes trained intently on the Flow's path. For a microsecond I recognized my strike would miss, the trajectory not matching my intended location. My stomach ignited with a wave of boiling heat as my mind fell dull, like my body was more occupied supplying something else with blood at the moment.
In that same fraction of a second, a network of energy ignited across the mannequins entire body, a bright bluish hue flaring where the Flow clumped at its chest. My elbow adjusted in, twisting my fist up into a palm blasting into the mannequins chest. The energy from my impacting it's Flow exploded on impact, sending the wooden warrior barreling across the room, dismantling as it tumbled through the air and onto the floor.
My body froze in place trying to process what I'd just seen. The glare from all that energy being moved through something not even sentient was genuinely rattling, considering it oddly resembled a circulatory system in humans. The notification I received shortly after did calm down my nerves as I sat in the corner, huffing and puffing on the rising training platform.
*Congratulations!* You've unlocked a new skill!
->
Flow Strike (common) -attack an enemy using the Flow built in their body at its collection point added by your own attack. Damage boost varies depending on total Flow built up and force used to attack it.
+1 perception +1 wisdom for gaining skill in [Flow] Skill tree!
A-HAH! There IS a Flow skill tree.
Reading over my other Flow related skills, I quickly realized there were probably a skipped step or two in terms climbing said tree, as my first skill was an (uncommon) ranked move. This one felt the most basic strike, based not only on its rarity but its title. 'Flow Strike', sounded about as bland as a 'lead hook'. With that, I made a note not to be disappointed if no other random stat boosts come like this from getting a skill, as it's most likely the extra bonus for unlocking one of the first Flow skills.
After basking in the fruits of my laborious training, my body reminded me of the repercussions of constant repetitive exertion, especially when using mana based skills. Meandering tiredly home, I bundled up in my covers and entered a quick meditation as soon as my head hit the pillow. With the intent to sleep, my mind drifted into itself within seconds, a feat pre-integration Tom would've committed arguably heinous acts to achieve. Before I could slip into REM sleep, a knock sounded at my door.
Cranky, I stomped over to check who it was at this hour to find Korbin waiting with his repulsive companion, R-AGHH…FUCK. 'It' is here. Opening the door and clutching my newly aching head, Korbin let himself in accordingly.
"Hey Tom. Just wanted to let you know; tomorrow we're going over the plan for our…'expansion project'." Korbin said delicately, pausing seeing my disapproving stare before continuing.
"…okay, our conquest. Was trying to be nice about it." He said, shaking his head in feigned disappointment.
"Anyways, after that the ship Ben just finished will have a few twins by morning, each with crews by noon. You will instruct your beast's to defend the vessels along safely to and from their destinations. I've already contracted your beasts, however part of it is completing the quests you provide them. Got it?" He instructed quickly, clearly wired from having schemed literally all day.
Rubbing my eyes, I did my best impression of being earnest as I replied.
"Yeah, yeah I got it. Conquest plans, tell beasts to do stuff. The days open from there though, right?" I asked, now perking up a little.
"Yes, but you and Steve can't wander off too far. Especially not before those ships leave out, and don't draw any attention along their course. We'll go over it tomorrow." He said, sitting down eating an apple from my table. I hadn't even had one yet.
"Soo…why are you still just chilling here?" I asked, confused at the lack of reason from a man not frugal with his time.
"Honestly, I'm bored. This conquest will do me some good but, there's one more thing I needed from you beforehand." He said, looking at my twinblade at the foot of my bed.
"Those things are, well, intimidating. Ask Lonni to whip you up some sheathes to cover those, in case we have folks we actually don't want to just murder outright. I'll provide whatever supplies he needs. Sound good?" He asked. I nodded quickly, before he slapped his knees to get up.
"Good. Then I'm headed to bed. Just wanted to be sure you didn't mind holding your little lightning pricks in a metal jimmy from time to time. See you tomorrow." He said, before stopping at the doorway.
"Oh and, sorry for misreading you earlier. Not because it was my fault, I just felt bad having said those things. Only cause they weren't true, not because I was wrong." He clarified.
"Yeah dude, it's on me anyways. No big deal, for real." I assured. It wasn't honestly, he was right as far as I was concerned. Still, I could see where the weird guilt might come from. It's more fun when they're actually being a total dumbass, not kind of one. He left, leaving me to finally drift into a peaceful space of tranquility a-
Ting
Ting Ting
Ting
Fucking. Lonni.