Life Review Ch. 05

After he deemed himself sufficiently warmed up, Shawn moved away from Cassidy so that he was facing an empty stretch of sand. He felt weird getting into his ready stance, both because he was being watched, and because he had no one to fight. He started slowly, moving from one stance to the next. He relaxed with each motion and let his body flow in familiar cadences. He retreated into himself and watched the engrained movements play out, the fighting style he was currently using was focusing on his upper body. Edwin had told him to practice switching things up, so he switched to his newer fighting style that focused more on his lower body.

After letting the sequences run to completion he could see what Edwin meant when he said they were predictable. The form might be perfect because of the interface inside his mind, but his application was flawed. He was no better than an NPC at his currently level. Shawn set scenarios in his mind, let his body react accordingly, then worked to improve the sequences.

Shawn lost himself in simulation after simulation. At some point, he realized that he was watching himself from the window in the menu that usually displayed his body and overall wellbeing. It was a truly odd sensation to feel his body move and watch it from a third person point of view.

He tried to switch between fighting styles, only to find that once he did it mentally, it would reset the combat sequence. After trial and error, Shawn realized he had to consciously pick and choose which movement he wanted to perform. If he wanted to move from a blistering series of palm and elbow strikes to scything kicks, he had to almost cut and paste the move into the sequence.

Shawn let himself return to his body and found himself dripping in sweat. Cassidy was sitting in the stands next to Ruth as he watched Shawn in fascination. To Shawn's delight, he wasn't out of breath and his heart rate was under control. He allowed himself a small smile of pride before returning his focus back to his training. He had to come up with a solution to the issue of mixing styles.

"Shawn, show Ruth your Elemental Fingers!" Cassidy jeered.

"It's Elemental Fists!" Shawn called back indignantly, there was a smattering of laughter from the members on the field.

Shawn really wanted to focus on his problem switching stances mid sequence, but he did need to test out his new acquisitions: Gale Intercept, Windstride, Windsheer, and Fireball. The first skill on his list was Windstride. He focused inwards and reached for the ember of power in his mind. The ember was where it always was, but he saw it sitting right next to a second nodule of power. It took Shawn a moment to realize that the ember of power was his own mental representation for fire magic. The second nodule filled him with a different sensation when he reached for it, his body felt lighter and his skin prickled as a soft breeze kissed his skin.

Shawn focused this new power into the architecture of the spell, and suddenly air was curling around his body. He lifted his foot and felt a pressure under the sole of his boot that was eager to propel him forward. Shawn grinned as he began walking, his body feeling light as air. Each step he took carried him twice as far as it normally would have. He quickened his pace and fell into a jog, easily carrying himself around the field as if he was running.

With a whooping cry, Shawn broke out into a sprint. The wind howled around him as it joined his excited shout. For every stride Shawn took, a billowing cloud of sand was kicked up in his wake. Shawn rejoiced in the sudden freedom of movement that the spell offered him, but a draining sensation in the back of his mind kept him grounded enough to realize that he was depleting his energy reserves quickly. With a quick calculation, Shawn estimated that he could maintain the spell in full force for a little over two minutes.

As he let the spell fade, Shawn used the last remaining essence of wind swirling around him to leap into the air, soaring high above the field. His descent was slowed until the dregs of the spell finally gave out and he dropped the remaining distance to the ground. Shawn tucked and rolled easily to break his fall and lay on the ground with a giddy expression on his face.

"Time is almost up, Shawn!" Cassidy called out to him. "Quit your layin' around and show Ruth the rest!"

Shawn pushed himself up and walked back to his starting position. He gripped the ember of power and summoned a fireball, not really anything different from the Fireblast spell, except he felt it had more control as it had more substantial form. He tossed the ball of flame into the air as high as he could and activated Gale Intercept as it reached its zenith. Shawn was surprised by the sudden drain of his energy and the violent updraft that picked him up and launched him forward fast enough to blur his vision. He immediately found himself face to face with his own fireball, which was seconds away from detonating.

Quickly stabilizing the spell, he redirected it down towards the field. As gravity took hold of him once again, he was keenly aware he was almost to the ceiling of the indoor training field, a lofty forty feet in the air. He plummeted like a stone, falling into the blast radius of his fireball as its flames roared up to greet him. In a blind panic, Shawn lashed out wildly with his foot and he felt another drain of energy as Windsheer was reflexively cast. His foot felt like he was kicking through water as he completed the action.

He felt a sudden vacuum of air pull at him as the wind screamed around him. The plume of fire threatening to swallow him up was cleaved in two in an instant, the flames sputtering and dying out into embers. There was a dull impact and he saw a thin line had been carved into the ground that was around twelve feet long. He normally would be impressed with the new spell and its destructive capabilities, but his attention was solely focused on slowing his fall.

Reactivating Windstride as he fall slowed him marginally as the spell had taken hold for a fraction of a second. Throwing caution to the wind, thrust his palm outwards and dumped a good chunk of his remaining energy into a Fireblast spell. The resulting explosion coupled with the wind cushion, allowed Shawn to add an angle to his descent. His shoulder hit the ground hard enough to drive the air from his lungs and he was propelled forward by both the momentum and the Windstride spell.

Shawn tumbled wildly in the sand and slid to a halt at the foot of the bleachers on the opposite side of the field. The world was spinning when he opened his eyes. He felt completely drained. He heard two concerned voices ask if he was okay, which he waved off. Once he collected himself he sat up to see Ruth and Cassidy grinning stupidly at him.

"That was magnificent!" Ruth crowed.

"You could use some work on the landing, Raine," Cassidy teased.

"Practice was a good idea," Shawn admitted as he forced his aching body to stand.

"Those were some pretty sweet moves!" Cassidy gushed. "I especially like the part where you turned yourself into a human yo-yo."

"Ha ha," Shawn replied sarcastically.

"Shawn, I know exactly what you need!" Ruth said excitedly. "From what I observed, you are a very flexible combatant, with your greatest asset being your mobility and burst power. Much of your defense comes from avoidance and redirection as opposed to simply trying to stop an attack."

"That sounds about right. I learned my lesson with a skeletal minotaur to avoid heavy attacks," Shawn rubbed his shoulder in memory of the jarring impact that nearly took off his arm.

"Do you have an element assigned to a specific body part, air with your feet and fire for your hands?" Ruth was scribbling furiously in his notepad. Could he use two different elemental spells in tandem?

"Both, but I haven't tried vice versa," Shawn was suddenly curious about the effects of his spells with different martial techniques.

"I'm going to return to my shop and scrounge something up. Come see me after you take a breather, you look wiped out," Ruth looked Shawn over critically. "Your lovely elf companion's order will be ready around that time too, so this works out perfectly!"

"Order? I thought she only bought three quivers?" Shawn furrowed his brows.

"She found a few pieces she liked, but they needed to be dyed and resized to fit her. My assistants have been working on it since we left," Ruth clapped his hands together. "Alright. I'll see you two in a bit. Oh gods above this is going to be so much fun!"

Ruth ran from the field in his excitement, leaving Shawn and Cassidy shaking their heads and smiling.

Cassidy and Shawn soon ran into their next biggest issue. Once they had gone to the public bath houses and cleaned up, they were acutely aware that they had only one set of clothes. In Shawn's case, one set of very sweaty, dirty clothes. Since Cassidy was the only presentable one, she was tasked with securing them a new wardrobe while Shawn sat soaking in the lukewarm water of the baths.

Shawn was jostled awake by a stranger, telling him a pretty tawny haired women had come to retrieve him and had fresh clothes for him. He walked out with a thin towel barely keeping his modesty to see Cassidy with a still pissed Denza skulking behind her. Cassidy made a face and handed him a bundle of clothes that felt like silk and linen. He noticed that Cassidy had on a new outfit. A firm departure from figure hugging leather, Cassidy had chosen to wear a tasteful ice blue sundress that hung off her shoulders and fell in waves down her frame.

"How much did these cost?" Shawn held up the loose white silk shirt and beige linen trousers, then eyed her new dress.

"The shirt? Five silver pieces, the pants were on sale of four copper, and my dress was two silver," Cassidy replied dutifully. "Shall I present the receipt to the accountant?"

Denza cut Shawn off before he could say anything, "For your information, yes. That is expensive for clothes. What she paid for one shirt could have put you in a decent inn for a week."

Cassidy worked her jaw as she struggled not to make a cutting remark, she forced a strained smile onto her face as she replied, "Thank you, Denza. It would seem that nice clothes are a luxury here. I for one am okay with spending money on comforts when I can afford them."

"Every gold coin we have should be put towards Nessa's spell to find my sisters!" Denza snapped, ears twitching in anger.

Shawn put a hand on Cassidy's shoulder to prevent her from blowing up on their long eared companion. He walked up to Denza and bent slightly to look her in the eye.. He kept his face calm and impartial, despite feeling both his and Denza's emotions inside him.

"Denza," he started calmly. "We are doing everything in our power to help you. I understand you are on edge, but you cannot bite our heads off for every little thing. Me and Cassidy only have one set of clothes. We don't like being dirty or uncomfortable if we don't have to be. Is there a problem with that?"

"No," Denza mumbled, averting her gaze from his.

Shawn waited for her to return her eyes to his, "We are spending money on things we need. We don't really understand how the economy works here, but I will agree a silk shirt isn't a necessity."

Denza glared at Cassidy, "You see?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes. She was standing behind Shawn with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Shawn pressed on before the two bristling women decided to escalate their disagreement, "But it was a thoughtful gesture. She was thinking about my comfort. I would have been fine with a normal wool or linen shirt, but I'm not going to complain that she bought me a nicer one. Just because we need to obtain a large sum of money as fast as we can doesn't mean we have to live like paupers."

"Do you think we would work better if we lived in squalor? We could go back to Ruth and cancel our orders for the armor so that we save every last copper. Would that make you happy?" Shawn asked softly.

Denza blushed and looked away again, "No." Shawn felt the shame well up inside her when she realized her own childish behavior.

Shawn cupped her chin and forced her to look at him again. When she looked at him, he offered her a gentle smile, "I'm not trying to say everything is your fault. Me and Cassidy haven't been too careful or mature in how we've acted. Isn't that right, Cass?"

Cassidy pursed her lips and said nothing. When Shawn shot her harsh look, she relented, "Yes, yes. I'm sorry for kicking you out and having Shawn to myself, and I'm sorry for calling you a side piece."

"I don't even know exactly what that is!" Denza huffed.

"It means you're second to someone else," Shawn explained. "Like if Cassidy was my wife and you were my mistress."

Denza looked confused, "That's actually pretty standard in political marriages."

Shawn shook his head, "That isn't the point. You aren't second to anyone. I'm as bound to you as I am to Cassidy."

"I know," Denza said in a small voice, blushing deeper. "You two having sex really doesn't bother me. I admit I was angry I wasn't able to act on my urges, but it was that you two were fooling around while Nessa and I were working on finding my missing siblings! That made me feel like you held simple pleasures of lust higher in your priorities that finding my sisters."

Cassidy's face fell, and she rushed to embrace Denza, "I'm really sorry. It was highly inappropriate and it was completely the wrong time and that is totally on me. Finding your sisters is our number one priority. I don't know what it's like to have siblings, but I do know how it feels to have to say goodbye to family. We are with you all the way."

"I agree. I feel the loss of Jenny very acutely, and immersing myself in my new life and living in the moment helps me cope with that. Even though I know I'll see her again, it still feels like she died. To be honest, I'm still struggling with it. The only reason I haven't broken down into grief is because it doesn't feel real yet. You've been grieving for your sisters for five years. I swear to you that it won't be much longer until you finally have your answers," Shawn pulled both girls to his chest.

"I know, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. I can't help how I feel. I was really hurt," Denza said quietly, resting her head on Shawn's bare chest.

"No more sex until we find your sisters?" Shawn offered, although hoping it would be rejected.

"Whoa now, let's not get too ahead of ourselves," Cassidy objected, only half joking.

"That would be a punishment for me too," Denza giggled, the sound broken by a hiccup.

Shawn felt a breeze blow down the street which reminded him that he was still damp and only wearing a wet towel, "ladies, as much as I would love to continue this conversation, I need to get dressed."

"Right. Good chat. Ruth is waiting for us, chop chop" Cassidy urged them.

Shawn dressed himself in his new shirt and trousers before meeting the girls out front. When the trio reached the shop they found Ruth waiting for them by the door. There were a handful of customers browsing the racks, but he left them to his assistants. Once he caught sight of them he quickly shepherded them into the back of the shop which turned out to be Ruth's workshop.

"We'll start with Denza," Ruth announced. They followed him over to his work bench and saw three piles of various sizes all hidden under white cloths. He removed the first veil with a flourish.

Beneath the pristine cover lay a polished belt with two extra lengths of leather looped on either side that fed into the buckle which housed three different shining silver latches. Under the belt was a dark wood colored cuirass that had been adjusted to a small size and shape. Denza inspected her order, quickly and efficiently strapping on her new cuirass which wrapped around her chest like a second skin. The belt followed soon after, to which she fastened the three new quivers she bought so that two hung off her hips while the third was attached at the lower back.

"Those turned out so well!" Ruth beamed.

"Your work is superb," Denza admired the feel of her armor. "Everything fits just right."

"Are you sure you won't let me look at the rest? It looks terribly worn," Ruth looked at Denzas boots and the protective hardened leather pads around her thighs.

"I'm afraid I only have enough to cover the two pieces and the quivers," Denza sighed, tossing her whole pouch of gold onto the workshop bench.

"How much did that run in total?" Shawn asked, more curious than nervous.

"The three quivers are a special make that doubles the carrying capacity by cleverly adding slots to hold each arrow in place, allowing to owner to utilize the space fully. A bonus is that the arrows won't accidentally fall out because they are held in place," Ruth said lovingly to the quivers. "It was a revolutionary technology when it was introduced fifty years ago, but it was and is an expensive process."

"Seventy five gold pieces per quiver, fifty for the cuirass, and thirty five for the belt" Denza made a face. "I thought I went insane when he told me the price."

"So of course you bought three," Cassidy smirked.

"I thought it would be prudent to invest in my armor, given your propensity to getting us in mortal peril almost daily," Denza stuck her nose in the air, giving Shawn the first real glimpse of Denza the merchant's daughter, instead of Denza the huntress.

"Which is why you should get rid of those ratty old things and get something that will actually stop a sword, not help it along!" Ruth urged her.

"So all of that ran you just north of three hundred?"Shawn asked.

"Yes," Denza grimaced.

"Ruth, how much would it be to get her new boots and good armor for her legs?" Shawn asked the armorsmith.

Ruth's face lit up, "I actually have just the thing!"

Shawn held up a hand, "Wait. You made the full set, didn't you?"

Ruth froze, then locked eyes with him, "And if I did?"

"Then I would say that it was cost effective to not waste materials, especially if you could resell whatever Denza didn't buy," Shawn pointed out.

Ruth nodded, "Right you are, Shawn."

"So if Denza buys the full set, you'll charge the cost of materials plus whatever your fees and profit margins are, but if she doesn't she'll actually be paying more if she bought them individually." Shawn tapped Denza's armor with a finger.

"A shrewd trader indeed!" Ruth barked a laugh. "For the rest of the set I can part with it for another fifty, given it is custom work with high grade materials. I'll only make a fifteen percent profit off of the sale."

"And you'll have repeat customers too," Cassidy grinned.

Ruth pulled a crate out from beneath the workbench and handed Denza calf high boots and armored pads for her legs in the same color as her cuirass. When she tried on the rest of the set, she gasped.

"This is lighter than my old ones," Denza said in awe. "But they feel so much harder!"

"Because of my own personal curing process, the type of leather, and I added a thin layer of steel just like the cloak Cassidy took a shine to. The desert to the south has a creature called an armored sand rat which they have to hunt with special arrows to pierce its hide, which is where I sourced the leather from," Ruth explained, the pride in his work evident in his voice.

"I still can't afford it," Denza said dejectedly.

Cassidy rolled her eyes, "We got it covered. I'm pretty sure the party funds are to cover such things, right Shawn?"

"Tack on the remainder to our bill," Shawn winked at Denza.

"I knew I liked the look of you three!" Ruth seemed to shiver with anticipation. "That's just the warm up act though. Next we go to Cassidy!