The Knightly Elven… Spider?

I was still thinking over the enchantment options during breakfast, leading to my parents believing something had happened, but I assured them there was nothing wrong. Cellestra explained the matter which left them smiling, presumably at how seriously I was taking it.

Even after we said our goodbyes to go our own way for the majority of the day, I halted after leaving the premises, wondering what to do. On one hand, a bit of time to think wouldn’t be bad, especially as there was little we planned to do in the dungeon for which this enchant would be of great importance. On the other hand, the thought of getting more powerful equipment had been such a driving force behind my actions that it was hard to just dismiss entirely.

“What do you think we should do?” I decided to ask Cellestra.

“Didn’t you want to do some work on our home? Perhaps we can think things over while doing that?”

“Hmmm. While that does sound like the best time to think about things, I’d prefer to work on that in the late afternoon, you know, after progressing our goals for the day.”

“In that case, let’s head to the dungeon, hope we acquire some skills, and then visit the city tomorrow.”

“Speaking of skills, let’s practice a bit as we move to the third floor. Casting from my back doesn’t seem to be an issue for you.”

“Nope,” She said with a warm smile. “And I’m happy it’s not. It’s quite effective, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it fun to do.”

I chuckled, shook my head, and smiled as I changed direction to the proving grounds.

It was refreshing to arrive there without any prospect of conflict, even if it was for a short duration. At least I’d enjoy the little while of peace that I had. Likewise, the soldiers that were there seemed to be in a good mood as well as they were laughing and had drinks delivered by one of them.

At the same time, Felmar was scribbling down on his clipboard, finishing up business for a female adventurer who’d brought in a lioness that lay in tatters next to her. Its fur was almost completely ruined due to wounds that appeared to be from spears. It came as no surprise to me that I saw only a few silver and copper coins pulled from the clerk’s pouch. Nevertheless, the novice adventurer, an archer judging from the recurve bow and quiver on her back, was happy with it.

Then, when Felmar waved when I passed, and the girl before him turned to see what exactly he was waving it, she got spooked and fell to her bum. I saw Elle twitch, and I knew she was eager to go and offer a hug in comfort, but she withheld herself from doing so. I couldn’t help but giggle at it all as we entered the portal.

“Surprised Felmar is still here,” Cellestra mentioned once we were on the other side.

“I was about to say the same thing. I wonder if he’s just stationed here for the day or whether he specifically requested it… for reasons.”

“Who knows?” I said with a shrug. “Let’s get down to business. Let’s see how learning this new ice lance goes.”

She nodded and we got to work on the way through the savannah, teaching her the ability as we went. Funnily but not completely unexpectedly, we had the spell mastered before we even left the first floor.

“Interesting how this blessing of yours works,” She mentioned as we entered the tunnel leading towards the second area. “I don’t know how often I said it now, but it’s still incredible. It’s basically the same ability, with a few more coagulations near the end of the cast that increases its power significantly, and at such a low additional cost in mana.”

“Yeah,” I said in the manner that conveyed ‘I have no idea what that means’. I did a good job at it too, for she was left giggling.

“Funny,” She finally said. “Think we can do some more?”

“Sure.”

I decided to teach the detoxification spell, thinking she could learn such a simple spell before we arrived at our destination, but I was proven wrong. Apparently, there were a few limits that I hadn’t thought of. First, there was the fact that she was trying it on me, and I wasn’t suffering from any poison effect. Second, there was a contingency in the spell itself. Its mana cost would increase based on the potency of the dispelled effect, which, according to Cellestra, left several ‘holes’ in the mana flows. She talked a bunch more words that made very little sense to me, but as far as I could understand it, she would have to practice the spell by filling those holes herself.

I then got the bright idea of having her try it on the Firags. The spiderlings’ method of killing was venom and I thought it would be a great moment to practice on that.

When we finally got there, and started our assault on one, it proved to be viable as I had no issue holding them down. I did remove their special organ in the meantime, though, just to not be surprised.

According to Celletra, it helped, and after felling two more beasts she said everything was clear enough, at least to use it against venom of this potency, and quite likely, lesser toxins.
Just like the day before, we managed to get a grand total of five Firags, which left me excited to collect payment as we’d have another big cash-in. We’d have far more than needed for the enchantment, of which I was even more certain the Mana Bane would be the best suited. Yet, one couldn’t ever have enough, right?

There were plenty of things to buy, and if not, plenty of people who could use a little help. It had me smiling as Cellestra carefully cut open the first Firag for the spiders to eat. I just couldn’t help but enjoy the thought of helping people. In fact, I was looking forward to donating some of the money to the guild.

It reminded me of the archer we’d seen earlier, and I was wondering if it was possible to donate to specific people. She looked like she sorely needed the cash. I bet Felmar knew who it was, he could help with that.

If I could, the party whom I’d helped recover that weapon in the dungeon would get some as well. At least in their case, I had their names.

As for other things to do with the money, I wanted to make sure Cellestra had the necessary equipment to continue making potions and any other alchemical concoctions she had in her mind.

As I was thinking, Cellestra and the spiderlings made progress on the corpses. It wasn’t until they got to the last one that I noticed there was still no blue screen before me. For a moment, I feared that today wouldn’t offer us anything, but at the very end, there was some relief.

The name had immediately caught my attention and upon closer inspection, I found out that this was the exact spell that the Firags had been using.

“By the goddess,” Was all I managed to say when I found out. This was the spell I’d been after for a while. Now, at the very least, I knew it was obtainable through the devour skill. All that was left was for me to get it.

“That sounds good.”

“Yep. This is the spell I want. I’m gonna kill these beasts myself tomorrow.”

“You mean the spell with the orbs that explode into flames?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s awesome.”

Her voice was awfully excited and I couldn’t help but smile slyly at her. I thought I figured out what she was thinking about.

“Sounds to me you want me to get that spell quite badly. Could it be that you’d like to learn that one for yourself?”

“Well, I…” She started before nodding slowly. “Yeah. I’d like to.”

“No need to be shy,” I replied happily. “Goddess, I know I want it too.”

I grinned as Elle jumped up to me for a hug, and I petted her while Cellestra started gathering the hides for transport.

“Well, today was a good day once again. I hope Felmar is going to be able to allocate all these hides we’re getting. I’m actually thinking about keeping one for ourselves. Maybe give one to my parents as well.”

“Well, they do make for lovely gifts. Who wouldn’t want something so soft and naturally warm?”

“I don’t think you can complain in that regard,” I said with a sly smile, making sure to look her in the eyes as we loaded the hides onto my back. I left her giggling softly at that with a smile that always managed to melt my heart.