Chapter 6: Chapter 3: Fragile Bonds

Being in tense situations wasn’t all unfamiliar to Priscilla, though in truth it was the first time she ever witnessed someone not demi-human transform like so. Other than that, her own blade blocking her path did instill a sense of anger at the knight but nevertheless she complied to his glance at her by raising both hands while saying.

“Don’t worry, I won’t attack without reason.”

She held the sword handguard before the knight gave her weapon back after a nod. After that he looked at the elf who still had the string halfway pulled.

“Elaine. Your bow.”

“Rein…”

“Please. Elaine.”

She sighed.

“If she so much moves a finger, I’ll kill her.”

“Don’t worry.” After making sure neither of them would do something harsh, Reinhardt slowly approached Rionara who was in a state of shock from being seen by them. “Rio. Can you hear me?” Her azure eyes were instead purple and her right shadow claw was covering the front of her body like she was trying to protect herself. “Calm down, we won’t hurt you. Can you understand what I’m saying?”

She nodded slowly a few times which Reinhardt used to confirm that despite her monstrous appearance she did retain some sense of self control. He then extended his hand out to her but the girl shook her head a few times in fear of hurting him.

Upon seeing that, Priscilla sighed and sheathed her blade before walking to Rionara. She knelt by her left side and held her shoulder, gently pressing on it as if to confirm if the rest of her body was normal.

“Rionara right?” The spell fencer looked in the girl’s eyes while speaking with her. “Can you undo that transformation?” She nodded once. “...Can you do it for me?”

Rionara took a deep breath before closing her eyes, though in doing so she began to remember bits of painful memories of when she became what she is and a surge of panic started to overtake her.

The shoulder Priscilla was touching suddenly became hotter as darkness began to engulf it in a thick cloud of miasma, it seemed the transformation was getting worse until Reinhardt shouted.

“Stay with us! Rionara!”

He grabbed both her arm and shadow claw as he gave her a firm shake. At that moment she snapped out of it with a gasp and opened her eyes. Seeing Reinhardt so close to her face startled her which made her arm flinch and the knight could hear the bow limbs creak as the elf pulled the arrow back.

“I-I’m sorry!” Rionara’s voice was filled with despair. “I didn’t want this to happen!”

“Calm down. It’s alright…”

The knight glanced at the elf over his shoulder and shook his head, making the elf simply leave the arrow halfway drawn.

“Rio.” Priscilla held her shoulder once again. “Listen to me, don’t be afraid to tell us what you’re going through, else how are we supposed to help you?”

“I… aren’t you afraid? Afraid I might kill you?”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.” The knight spoke truthfully. “Though it would pain me even more to have a young life such as yours be taken away without at least trying to help you.”

It looked like she was about to burst into tears. Her horns and shadow claw began to subside and eventually her demonic features were no longer visible as she cried away between Priscilla’s arms.

Reinhardt couldn’t help but smile as he stood up.

“Was that really necessary?”

Elaine asked as he walked past her before sitting in the corner of the room, he lifted the visor of his helmet and with a tightly closed hand he beat on his breastplate.

“I won’t forsake those that can yet be saved. I made an oath in the name of the goddess of light and I shall walk down that path, as arduous as it may be.”

“I understand your zeal from your time as a paladin, but won’t that oath cost you greatly if you keep helping everyone but yourself?” He glanced down with his right fist still clenched before opening it, his eyes had a hint of regret. In doing so, Elaine realized her mistake and sat beside him while holding his right hand with both of her own. “I’m… I’m sorry Rein, I didn’t mean to remind you of that.”

On the other side of the room, Priscilla calmed a distressed Rionara between her arms until the girl fell asleep.

“Good grief…” The spell fencer sighed with half a smile on her face. “You shouldn’t sleep while in a dungeon.”

She left Rionara against the corner of the room and covered the girl with her white overcoat. Only wearing the chainmail and leather jacket underneath, she stood up holding her broadsword with both hands and began to firmly swing it in order to practice. Reinhardt glanced from the corner of his eye and kept watching the spell fencer swing her blade a few times before eventually standing up. Priscilla, who was so engrossed with her own training only noticed the knight approach her after he was at arm's length beside her.

“Sir Reinhardt, what can I help you with?”

“Oh, no I was observing you swing your sword and I couldn’t help but notice your legs are not bent enough, with that stance you won’t be able to dodge an attack or parry correctly.”

“Huh?” She looked down at her own legs and only after doing so she noticed they were straight stiff as a plank. “Oh.” She took a step back with her right foot and slightly bent both knees. “I keep forgetting that part.”

“Have you studied swordsmanship before?”

“Yes, I’ve received lessons both in magic and the blade back in the citadel. Though if I’m completely honest I haven’t used much of the latter ever since coming to this town. I feel like I lost a bit of practice.”

“Maybe some sparring is in order then.” He unbuckled his empty scabbard and walked to the opposite side in front of her while holding the old sheath out as if he was holding a sword. “May I?”

Though surprised, Priscilla appreciated his offer, however going against a man holding nothing but a scabbard seemed dishonorable.

“Sir Reinhardt, what about your sword?”

“Oh this? I didn’t mean to mock you or anything, it’s just a habit from when I was training with other knights. Didn’t your school teach you to use sheathed blades?”

“Well… we had wooden swords for that.”

“Ah. Forgive me.”

“No, it’s okay. Let me also do this then.” She removed the scabbard from her belt and used it to tie the sheath to the handguard in order to prevent it from being flung away when she decided to swing the blade. “Alright. I’m ready.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Very well… here I come!”

He dashed in for a horizontal strike which at first seemed like an easy attack to parry except when Priscilla raised the blade to deflect it, only the very tip of the scabbard hit hers allowing the sheathed weapon to simply pass in front of her, Reinhardt then used the momentum to attempt a follow up swing from the opposite direction which forced the spell fencer to dodge backwards, as she did the knight rushed in for an overhead swing.

“Ngh!”

With her own diagonal attack, she parried the incoming weapon but as her feet were too close together she lost her balance and was about to fall on her back, but Reinhardt was able to catch her wrist and pull her back on her feet.

“Careful there.”

“Mmmgh… thank you.” Both her hands were tingling from the exchange of blades, it had been a while since she fought someone that could overwhelm her so easily. “Sir Reinhardt, mind if I ask where you learned to fight like that?”

“I studied in the Arcadian Royal Academy.”

“Wait, are you talking about the prestigious school for royal knights?!”

He nodded while gazing at his own worn gauntlets.

“I had many excellent teachers there, but nothing still beats actual combat experience.” After that he tied the sheathed sword back to his waist. “Although, that spell fencing of yours can be more deadly than my skill with the sword.”

“Until I run out mana that is.” She inspected her weapon’s sheath before returning it to her belt. “I came here looking for practice but I found a much more interesting tale-” Her speech was interrupted by the growling of her stomach, though at first it didn’t seem too obvious, once she tried to speak again the rumble of her belly reached both Elaine and Reinhardt’s ears as she grasped her belly from the top of her chainmail. “I apologize for that.”

She gritted her teeth from embarrassment.

“I’m also feeling hungry.” The knight glanced at the elf. “What time is it?”

“Let me see.” She said before she got a rusted pocket watch out from her gambeson, the glass was cracked but it was still ticking normally. “Noon.”

“Might as well settle down and eat.” He stood up and walked over to Elaine in order to get the food from her bag. “Want to join us, Dame Priscilla?”

He asked out of goodwill which made Elaine sigh underneath her breath before muttering.

“We don’t have much left, you know…”

“Did you say something Elaine?”

Reinhardt asked her as he was going through the bag.

“No, nothing.”

He pulled out what seemed to be a burlap tied with dried cord and from it he pulled a couple of hardtacks out and handed over to Priscilla, who stood there with both hands in the form of a bowl holding six of the hard square flour biscuits.

“Hang on, don't eat them yet.”The knight ruffled some more through the bag and pulled out some dark red colored thin sticks of beef jerky which the spell fencer instantly recognized. He handed some of them out for her. “Put it between two, it makes the hardtack more palatable.”

She did feel a bit guilty for mooching the food of another party but her growling stomach didn’t care as long as there was sustenance to be had.

“Thank you for the food.” She placed the thin strip of beef jerky between the hardtack and upon biting down on it she felt the brick like texture resist the pressure of her mouth before she sunk in her teeth through the hard surface of the biscuit with a crack. “Mm… it is quite huh… hard.”

Reinhardt chuckled.

“I must apologize, it is a staple ration after all.”

“Oh, no, no need to apologize, it was my fault for not having eaten enough in the morning.” She clenched her fists as she bit into the hardtack sandwich. “Rhys would make fun of me if he knew this happened.”

She begrudgingly muttered. On the other hand, Reinhardt seemed relieved to not have insulted the noble woman with his rations as he prepared to eat.

On the opposite side of the room, the young Rionara was starting to blink a few times to shake off the drowsiness once she had woken up and as she scratched her eyes she noticed Priscilla’s overcoat covering her body like a warm mantle.

She glanced over at the group gathered in the other corner so she decided to stand up. Her body felt heavy even though she had gotten a few good minutes of rest it seemed to not have been enough. Despite the sluggishness, she wobbled over the group and when Reinhardt noticed her approach he went through the bag once again for more food.

“Hello…”

She quietly muttered.

“Are you feeling better?” The knight asked as he offered her some of the hardtack. “Come sit down and eat. Young girls like you should have better meals than this but this is all I can give you, sorry.”

She shook her head as she took the hardtack jerky sandwich from his hand and sat down beside him.

“It’s fine… thank you…”

All four of them spent their time munching the tasteless salty treat until there was nothing left. After that, Reinhardt shared his almost empty water skin with the party in order to wash down the excessively dry meal.

Priscilla was the last to drink before passing the empty waterskin back to Reinhardt who simply stored it inside Elaine’s bag.

“Now…” The elf stood up. “How do we get out of here?”

“Isn’t it as simple as going back the way we came?”

Priscilla asked her.

“If only it was that simple.” The elf pointed from where they originally came from and instead of a narrow passage there was now a solid smooth brick wall. “Then again, if it’s closed like this another passage will appear soon enough.”

“Eh? Wait, why is it closed? Didn’t we just come from there?!”

Seeing Priscilla freak out was somewhat surprising for the elf and knight, who seemed rather calm for the current exitless room.

“Worry not Dame Priscilla.” Reinhardt began to explain. “It’s quite hard to believe at first but the dungeon is a living being. It creates rooms within itself to accommodate treasure and foes alike. This room, for instance, was beginning to take shape before we entered it. It just means that an exit will soon appear.”

Seeing how calmly he was speaking made her feel more at ease.

“Huh… I didn’t know that.”

“Have you never been in a dungeon before?” Elaine asked. “This is the basic information you learn once you’re an adventurer.”

“Hey, I’ve been working only for the fighter’s guild for the past year or so, I have never stepped foot in this place.” She scratched her right cheek. “The only reason I came here was because there were no jobs in the guild.”

“Fighter’s guild huh…?” The knight sounded nostalgic. “Back when I was still a squire I heard about it. Jobs were often too hard for normal adventurers so they began to rely on experts in their field, namely swordmasters, former knights or spell fencers.”

“I assume you are a knight without a lord, sir Reinhardt?”

He shook his head.

“I was a paladin.” He sighed. “Now, I’m just a sellsword.”

She raised an eyebrow as if she was continuing questioning him but it seemed like a touchy subject so instead she looked at Rionara.

“And you? I don’t suppose you’re related to either of them by blood.”

The girl shook her head.

“I’m… repaying a favor.”

“A favor?”

Rionara nodded once before pointing to the knight.

“I ‘borrowed’ some of his money.”

“Borrowed, yeah right.”

Elaine muttered under her breath before Priscilla turned to her.

“What about you? Former hunter?”

“No, just a vassal.”

“Vassal?”

The elf nodded as she pointed to the knight.

“I serve him.”

“Elaine’s family is a long generation of vassals that served the Lorraine family.” Reinhardt explained. “Our parents introduced us to one another at an early age so we kind of stuck together.”

“I see. Well it’s good to have someone you can trust at your back in this place.”

“Truly.” Elaine commented as she glanced with her piercing dark green eyes at the spell fencer. “So, how about you tell us something about yourself? I know this may be a fleeting alliance until we get out of here but I’d like to know who exactly you are if we are to trust our back to you.”

“Elaine…”

Reinhardt was about to say something but Priscilla simply raised her left palm and shook her head.

“I see no problem with that. Trust can only be gained by those who have something to lose after all.” She cleared her throat before reintroducing herself to the party. “My name is Priscilla Avellion. Eldest daughter of house Avellion of Akrapocalis.” There was pride in her voice. “I studied spell fencing at the Grand Academy before becoming a member of the fighter’s guild. While I’m not the best with the blade, I swear on my father’s name my magic abilities will not fall short.”

The moment she finished saying so the ground rumbled beneath them as the adjacent wall began to part in two, signifying the creation of an exit.

“Let’s get out of here.” Reinhardt unsheathed his arming sword while taking the front of the group. “Elaine, with me, you two should stay in the back.” He looked at Priscilla and Rionara. “Shout if something comes from behind.”

The two of them nodded as the group made their way out of the room.