The single droplet of Ambrosia glimred in the dim light. Gwendith pursed her lips. The entire point of their mission had been to help the team in Bella harvest Ambrosia, and here’s the trick of Fate that led them to a place that had them. A single drop, sure, but each and every one was precious. Yuriko spoke about how she used Ambrosia to further her Refinents until she reached the point where she was able to advance. Consuming several hundred droplets in the process, she saved a decade or so of daily training.
‘There were side effects though,’ Gwendith mused in her head, ‘Yuriko had to train her fine control. Otherwise, she was more liable to swat and sothing with her absolute power as opposed to just what was necessary.’ Still, it was a thod to save ti. Well, more like deferring training ti at the cost of power now.
Or perhaps the Ambrosia also pushed her lover to a higher point than she would have been able to otherwise.
Laura Mondero carefully walked up to the droplet of Ambrosia, took out a small vial from her pocket, and carefully nudged the droplet inside. And in the process, completely ruined it. The Ambrosia’s infinite potential was altered by the vial’s properties and aspected into so other kind. It did not change visually in any way, but Gwendith felt it nonetheless. She and Heron had partaken of Ambrosia, and they knew in their Anima what it felt like.
Gwendith resisted the urge to click her tongue, but Heron snorted, sowhat derisively.
“Is there…is sothing wrong?” Alejandro asked. His cheeks were sort of twitching, as were his cute bunny ears
Gwendith wondered…no, she knew that given the chance, Yuriko would be perfectly happy playing with those ears. They were slightly scruffy, but fluffy. The man wasn’t bad looking either…and thankfully he wasn’t within that region where Gwendith had to stop herself from crushing him reflexively. Haaah.
“No, it’s, well…” Gwendith shook her head, then said diplomatically. “I thought it was Ambrosia, but I guess I was mistaken.”
“Ambrosia?”
But the man’s ears sowhat betrayed him. Not that it shivered or moved erratically. They were held stiffly now where before, they were sowhat relaxed and lopsided. Well, she liked cute things too!
Gwendith decided to answer sowhat honestly, “A dangerous substance but full of potential. I have seen so in our travels.”
“I see.”
The ears did relax a bit, but not completely. He was suspicious. Actually, the two guardsn turned to face her when she spoke of Ambrosia, though Laura was focused on securing the vial. What was he suspicious of? And would it lead to strife? Cillian Coinoch only gave basic information, saying that most knowledge could be found in Nirlith City.
No more was said after the vial was put away. Gwendith could feel the Chaos Fount’s tumultuous energies begin to calm. The greatest concentration of Chaos and Water Elental energy had been dispersed. Gwendith’s eyes glowed with Chaos Sight, and she saw little of it now. Most of it dispersed within the chamber, where before, they had been rushing to the surface.
The journey back took just as much ti, if only because climbing up slippery slopes took a bit more effort.
“There were three types of creatures attacking,” Gwendith said. “Does that an there are two more Chaos Founts in overflow?”
“Yes,” Laura answered, though she was growing a bit winded at the climb. “Iron Forest and Floating Rock Chaos Founts.” She glanced at Alejandro who continued.
“Those, along with Waterfall Cave are the nearest Founts from Waterlow. But Floating Rock is roughly three leagues northeast, while Iron Forest is south-southeast. About two leagues. Ah, but don’t worry too much about them. Both Founts have open spaces so its easier to send nurous adventurers and soldiers to quell them. Waterfall Cave is the most dangerous due to proximity. But it's also one of the very few Founts that have demonstrated the capability to produce Life Essence.”
“Are there many such Founts here?” Gwendith asked curiously but winced when she realised both adventurers imdiately adopted a guarded look. “Ah, I apologize. It is secret information, I take it?”
“Yes, that’s right, Lady Sharine,” Alejandro said.
“Oh, call Gwendith, please. No need to be so formal.”
“Ah, I’m used to it, I fear. I will make the effort.”
“Hmmm, yes. Do so, please.”
By the ti they reached the Fount’s gate, Gwendith wondered if it would have been better to break the Fount to get out faster. A two- to three-hour hike in the cold and wet was more than inconvenient. Keeping the water away from her clothes took so focus, though it was wonderful practice. She could feel a few cracks from strain. The goal was a hundred paces, wasn’t it? Oh, no, just ten would have been enough to advance. But she didn’t want to be weaker than Yuriko at the sa level. Not by too large a gap anyway.
Soon enough, they reached the gate, and when they exited, the roar of the waterfall in front of them masked any sounds of battle. The path was slippery, but a guide rope and fence prevented anyone from slipping and careening off the trail and into the basin. Once they were clear, Gwendith imdiately sought Yuriko’s presence.
“The skies are clear,” Alejandro said. “Is the fighting over?”
“Yuri must have been bored,” Heron muttered.
“No, she’s angry at the casualties,” Gwendith said solemnly. “Let’s see what we can do to help.”
“Hmm, you think Yuriko managed to replicate the heal cubes?” Heron mused.
“She hasn’t said.” Gwendith snorted. “I doubt it. She was far too busy with her other training routines.”
All amusent faded when they left the riverside part. The streets were stained crimson, though thankfully, not all were from humans. Er, beastkin, Laura’s race, and the short, stouter ones? Sha’ledras, wasn’t it? And Durandu? Duranda? Hmmm, she hadn’t spent enough ti talking with either race. And forgetting what they call their people was a bit shaful. Well, she’d find out discreetly later, or ask, maybe. She was sure Laura was a Sha’ledras.
There were already people moving rubble out of the way. And the corpses of the Wyverns and Spiky Wolves. So of the dead humanoids had been covered with blankets, while those who had been crushed by the rubble had been left there for the most part.
The casualties were ruinous, Gwendith thought, and by the harried and forsaken looks amongst the survivors, this was not a common occurrence.
At the first square were the survivors and the wounded. Most of the bodies had been cleared, while the wounded were being seen by healers. Well, mostly first aid. Bandages and splints. But there were a few gravely wounded that were being carried sowhere else while lying on a stretch of canvas hung between two poles.
Laura was spotted and approached by one of the healers.
“Lady Mondero, the critically wounded were brought to the hospital for treatnt.”
“I will go there,” Laura said quickly. She turned to Gwendith and Heron, “Please et us at the Adventurers’ Guild building tomorrow, at 9 o’clock in the morning.”
Gwendith tilted her head in confusion. 9 o’clock in the morning? That can’t be nine hours after dawn, right? Could she not have nad the hour like that?
Seeing her confusion, Laura looked at Alejandro and said, “Please explain.”
“I will, Lady Mondero.”
Laura left imdiately afterwards while Alejandro reached into his pocket and brought out a silver contraption. It was round, roughly an inch and a half wide, and about a quarter inch thick. There were so small knobs and switches along the sides, as well as a fine silver chain that connected it to his pocket.
“A pocket clock,” Alejandro said. “Since you’re not from the Arcadia Region, you may have a different thod of telling ti.”
He pressed down on one of the knobs and a lid popped off the pocket clock, and revealed a white surface with twelve numbers along the edges. There were three arrows, one significantly longer than the other two, while one of the longer ones was about a quarter of the other two’s width. The narrowest one moved around the surface deosil. It took almost precisely a minute for that arm to move around, and once it hit the number twelve nural at the top of the clock, the other long arm moved imperceptibly.
Gwendith quickly deduced that the long arm would take sixty adjustnts to go around doesil, and with that, she was certain that this was a tikeeper. Not all that accurate, Gwendith thought, and it would need adjustnt after a week or so, otherwise, it would be slow by a minute or two.
“I understand. But how to determine which nural corresponds to the hours of the day?” Gwendith pointed out, “In our holand, we count the hours after dawn, and we use references like midmorning, noon, and midafternoon.”
“Ah, that makes things simpler. 6 o’clock…short for ‘of the clock’ is when dawn happens during the Seasons of Earth and Air. You know that Fire and Water have longer days or nights, right?”
“Yes, we just adjust the morning hours that way,” Gwendith smiled.
“Well, this is a more precise way to go about it.”
Gwendith rolled her eyes. Precise? The tikeeping is off! There were waves of smugness coming off the man. If his ears weren’t so fluffy, she’d be annoyed. She noticed Heron snorting, too.
“So 9 o’clock ans midmorning, got it,” Gwendith said.
“Ah, maybe not, dawn has been returning closer to 6 o’clock these past few days. Season of Earth is about to co soon, after all. Er, there’s a clockmaker’s shop in the rchant’s district, and I would suggest you purchase one if only to synchronise the way we tell ti. There’s also a single clocktower in the Lower District, at the Main Square.”
“I see. Well, we will consider it,” Gwendith said flatly and Alejandro chuckled awkwardly.
“Ah, there is a reward for the help in clearing the Fount, as well as for the battle. A pittance, I suppose, but it is the law, after all.”
“No, it will help,” Gwendith assured him. “We don’t have much of your coinage.”
“I see. Then, I will take my leave. I have to return to the guild. Thank you for your aid, and your leader’s.”
He left after a short bow, leaving Gwendith and Heron alone.
“Do you think she went back to the ship?” Heron asked.
“Either that or she went for the wolves or Wyverns’ Fount.” Gwendith shrugged. “Why don’t you go back and check, and I’ll help around here?”
Heron shook his head. “No, I’ll help clear the rubble.”
“Suits ,” Gwendith said.
They went their separate ways and she walked briskly to the town gate, only to find that it was still closed. A soldier there said that they won’t open until tomorrow, but she just growled and jumped over the wall. Her Animakinesis simply grabbed the stones and propelled her over, seeing as her kinetic strength was finally enough to carry her body. She was sure Heron would do the sa, except he would jump.
Yuriko was indeed lounging on the deck. She smiled at Gwendith, and her heart skipped a beat. An intense feeling of neediness and lust filled her up, and she rushed up to Yuriko and kissed her as thoroughly as she could. Her lover squeaked in surprise, but her lips and tongue readily accepted Gwendith’s assault. She ended up dragging Yuriko to their quarters and it was only in the midst of the night when she was satisfied.
Yuriko lay in an exhausted heap, her vaunted endurance nowhere in sight. Gwendith knew it was because her lover had to restrain her Anima so they could make love, which led to her current condition, but it felt nice to dominate the stronger woman like this.
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