Ch. 231..240

Chapter 231

Hours passed in slow motion for Jack’s party as they waited for him to wake up. Everyone was curious about what happened.

According to Eliza, something was off. Not only was he tired physically but the look in his eyes wasn’t as lively as he normally was. Yet she didn’t allow anyone to enter his room or even glance at him. Eliza made sure that Jack wasn’t disturbed and he was allowed his beauty sleep.

The drifting smells of the succulent lunches on the main floor’s tavern started to fill the air. One by one the party found themselves drifting toward their private dining room and making themselves comfortable.

Being the furthest from the door, Rydel and Maynard cheered each other in excitement for the adventure waiting head. They were the first to notice Jack taking his time to enter the room, still with a distracted look in his eyes. "Jack, come! The lunch special is great."

Jack nodded. Still in no rush to approach them, Jack sat down. He didn’t bother getting anyone’s attention, patiently waiting for more food to arrive on its own.

"Something wrong, Jack?" Asked Rydel.

"No, why do you ask?"

Rydel looked at Jack carefully. "Jack, I know you well enough to know when you lie. Something’s up and you don’t want to talk about. Well, until you’re ready to talk about it how about a few drinks to loosen up."

"Sure... Sounds good to me."

Overhearing the conversation, Eliza poured a glass of brundy for Jack. She and the others carefully paid attention to the weary-eyed hero.

In a single gulp Jack rushed the glass to his lips and allowed the liquid courage to flow. He slammed the glass back down on the table, feeling a bit better about himself, at least in the moment. "I’ll have another!" He repeated the action again but only once before Marisha brought in the next round of food.

Maynard gave Jack a weird look. "Yeah, you’ve never been one to drink much but ya wouldn’t tell that from what you’re doing now."

Jack didn’t respond. He only eyed his food and took it eagerly, speeding up his pace with every motion of his hand and fork. Savoring the taste of the roast beef and the roasted potatoes he tried to lose himself in the moment. But his lingering thoughts still remained in the back of his head.

No matter what he did Jack couldn’t distract himself for long while he was sober.

He chugged to the third glass of brundy and held it up. "Give me the strongest stuff you got, the whole bottle."

"Coming right up." In moments Marisha disappeared and returned with a bottle down and slid it across the table. It had no label and no sign of its contents. All Jack, Rydel, and Maynard could see was a dark liquid sloshing around inside as Jack picked up the bottle.

Without a second thought Jack popped off the cork and put the bottle to his lips. Jack didn’t get very far before he started coughing, letting some of the alcohol dribble from his lips and onto his clothes. He coughed while shouting, "Now that’s what I’m talking about!"

Neither Rydel nor Maynard said another word as they lifted their glasses and cheered alongside Jack.

The girls sat across from them but didn’t chime in. They were already enjoying their own company when Jack started to make even more of a ruckus.

Lena was the first to say something. "Big bro!"

Maura put her hand on the teen’s shoulder. "Lina, how about we let Jack drink a little bit?"

"Why?"

"He needs to loosen up before we can ask him some questions," stated Eliza. "At least then, maybe he’ll be more honest with us."

Keela and Dalia kept quiet as Maura and Eliza chatted about Jack’s treatment toward his wife’s.

The beautiful Keela kept her thoughts to herself as she pictured what it be like to be one of Jack’s wives. Thinking honestly about it, though, Keela now found it harder to seek after that sort of a relationship with Jack.

Daliea, on the other hand, focused on something else. She still thought of Jack, mainly how she might be able to better help him. It was obvious to all the girls that something happened with Jack and he couldn’t hide the stress from everyone. Daliea pondered ways that she might be able to help him relieve that stress and make it easier for him.

The afternoon quickly rolled in as Jack was well into his second bottle of the mystery liquid. His speech wasn’t slurred but his usual judgment and mental fortitude were opening up without any inhibitions.

Since Jack was the most open he had ever been, both Rydel and Maynard, who were secretly letting Jack drink by himself, felt it was time to start talking. "So, Jack, what’s up? What’s got you so down in the dumps?" asked Maynard.

"I... don’t want to talk about it," griped Jack. "Daruun is stupid, he may know everything but he stupid..."

Everyone around the table chuckled, except for Lina who knew nothing of this person that Jack was mentioning. "Who’s Daruun, Big Bro?"

"He’s a snarky god who thinks he knows everything. He’s a big help but he’s stupid. If he was smarter, than he would be more specific about the hardships we’ll be facing." Again Jack lifted the bottle to his lips and proceeded to his mouth clean. "At least this time I know what to do to get us in Trodar and to save it."

The hunter’s eyes almost rocketed out of his skull as he stared at the intoxicated Jack. "What do we have to? And when are we leaving?"

"We’ll split up," stated Jack as he lifted a finger high in the air in a know-it-all fashion. "But things will be different. Maynard, Mara, and Little Lina are going to Prachten. Everyone else is coming with me to Limneer. That way we can save Trodar."

Jack paused, as if he had no clue everyone else was on the edge of their seats waiting for him to continue. Suddenly, Jack leaned into the table and looked around while putting a finger to his lips. He whispered, "There’s this secret army... Limneer partnered with Sandros and they plan to invade real soon. But that’s not al... Prachten’s getting help from Churstin. Maynard and Maura are going there to learn about the secret supply line while the rest of us find evidence of the secret army. But don’t tell anyone... It’s a secret."

It was hard for others to take this seriously from the overly animated Jack. But they understood well enough that it was a drastic situation that could be very dangerous.

Maynard gave Jack a little nudge. "Hey, ya know, if I go with ya guys we should be able to handle the army much better."

"No!" Vigorously, Jack shook his head. "Can’t do that. Daruun said you need to go to Churstin... I mean Prachten. The rest of us will be real sneaky and find the secret army in. Then I can tell Tralon and we can stop them."

"When are we leaving, Jack?" Rydel was the only one not struggling to smile. He had a laser-like focus as he stared into Jack’s eyes as if forcing him to be sober for a moment.

Jack blinked. "Tomorrow morning."

"Do we need to prepare any special supplies?"

"No," replied Jack while returning to his intoxicated self. "We just need to be real sneaky. Once we find evidence then all we have to do is slow them down, we don’t have to defeat them. But it’s still really dangerous. If we aren’t careful... we could..."

A hard slap resounded off of Jack’s back, straightening him up and startling him. With a sharp smile Rydel added, "Oh, we’ll stop them. That you can be sure of."

While under the influence, Jack was unable to realize just how determined Rydel was but the others all noticed a fiery passion streak through the hunter’s eyes as he mentioned that.

Maynard sighed, "If that’s how you want to do it, then I guess I won’t complain... I’ll take good care of your wife and your little sister, Jack."

"Thanks, Maynard! I knew I could count on you!"

Without another word, Jack finished the second bottle and motioned for them to pass him a third. The more alcohol that entered his system, the more slurred and blurry he got during their conversations.

The rest of the party sadly couldn’t get much more information out of him, at least not anything reliable.

Most of the day was spent in the inn as Jack almost drunk himself into unconsciousness. By the time dinner rolled around Jack was barely able to lift his head.

Eliza eyed Jack and was about to stand when Daliea spoke up, "Let me help you."

Daliea rushed to Jack and threw one arm over his shoulder and one of his arms over hers. Without any difficulty she lugged him away from the table toward his room on the second floor.

Everyone was surprised to see her step up like that but they did nothing in response. They knew well that Daliea wouldn’t take advantage and was just genuinely helping.

A jealous glance left Eliza’s eyes but she too did nothing and left with Keela to go search for any possible supplies that might help them on their journey.

 

Chapter 232

Once in Jack’s room, Daliea sat him up on the bed. She gave him a once over and sighed before turning to leave.

"Wait!" A hand firmly grabbed Daliea’s wrist. "Can I have one of those massages? I could use one... Right now..."

The gray-skinned girl chuckled and looked back at Jack. "Sure. Lay on your belly."

"All right!" With a spry eagerness, Jack jumped onto the bed and landed belly first. "I’m ready!"

Daliea stretched her fingers and loosened her joints, readying herself to give Jack the best massage she could. She stood over him and started to work on his upper back, going slow and pushing deeply to knead the stress out of him.

"Oh... Yeah..."

Still somewhat unsure of herself, Daliea’s fingers gradually crept down to his lower back. She followed down along the spine in search of knots in the muscles.

"You’re good at this..." A sigh of relief fled from Jack’s lips.

She didn’t say it but Daliea was very excited and happy that the massage was going well.

Jack continued to throw random comments as Daliea worked her magic on his back. They didn’t realize it but they had lasted almost 30 minutes without keeping track of the rest of the world.

The experience wasn’t anything crazy or life-altering, but Daliea was extremely happy to be of use for Jack to make things at least a little bit easier for him. Jack had already been unconscious for some time now but Daliea kept going. Only after removing all knots from his back, arms, and legs did Daliea leave the room.

Everyone in Jack’s party, other than the young hero himself, used the night to either prepare for the journey or to enjoy each other’s company one last time before they split up.

All grew quiet in the Heavenly Palace Inn. No visitors came this time. No surprise guests found their way to Jack’s door.

The fresh morning air was peaceful and heartwarming. While Jack tumbled out of bed, Martha and Marisha were already saying their goodbyes to Maura and little Lina, as well as the other girls.

Zariff was sharing one last brundy with both of his former association mates. Rayard stayed in the kitchen to make sure they offered them a wonderfully extravagant breakfast to send them off.

Other than the goodbyes there wasn’t much else to say, so they didn’t say much. Even Argyle, who was generally concerned for his daughter’s safety, had come but showed little worry and was glad to see his daughter growing together with the husband he thought was perfect for her.

Jack smiled and greeted everybody, also saying his goodbyes. But everyone could tell that something was still off. It wasn’t as bad as it was the night before but there was still something different about Jack.

But now was not the time to push him to learn more. Instead, they enjoyed each other’s company until the table grew bare and the food dwindled from their plates. As their bellies filled, one by one people left the private dining room. Once Argyle and Zariff left, Marisha was the next to follow and then finally Martha.

The party all looked at each other and eventually found themselves watching Jack, who was still staring down at his empty plate.

"It’s time to go, ain’t it, Jack?" asked Maynard.

Jack nodded. "Yeah... Let’s get going. We’ll take a ride on Appa to speed things up."

"Who’s Appa?" Lina tilted her head as she blinked at Jack.

"You’ll remember him when you see him." Jack pushed himself up from the table and made his way out of the private room, letting the others follow suit as he continued to talk, "Based on his speed we should be able to reach Talmook in four days’ time. That should speed things up a lot."

"Seriously?!" Rydel was astounded by that fact. "That’s almost as fast as Ayden."

"True, but I’m sure Ayden can maneuver better. And that’s not even counting having so many people on his back," reasoned Jack. "In that case, it’ll probably take us about five days."

Maynard shrugged and smiled. "Well, I guess we’ve got a few more days together then. Maybe we can stop by another shrine or temple on the way?"

Having totally forgotten about the need to make more pledges, a lightbulb suddenly went off in Jack’s head. "Oh yeah... Actually, you might be right about that."

"Really?!"

"There is one god that we could check out after we reach Prachten, before reaching Talmook, but it might add some time to our journey and depending on that we may not have time for it."

Eliza’s eyes lit up as she leaned in toward Jack. "Which God is it? Will it be mine?"

"No, it’s Jin."

"Finally!" Maynard pumped his arm into the air rocketing both fists up and down in excitement.

"Everybody, calm down. Remember, right now our main focus is to help Trodar in any way we can," reminded Jack. "If Jin’s shrine happens to be somewhere difficult to access or would take too long to find, then we’ll have to give up on it temporarily because we’re running against a clock."

Before Maynard could reject, Rydel nudged him and gave him a serious look. "Right, if we don’t hurry up and get this done, then there won’t be a Trodar left to save."

"Fine, fine. We’ll just check it out and I won’t complain if we have to come back later. But after you guys do your thing I say we visit Jin next," reasoned Maynard.

Not arguing with Maynard, Jack decided to leave that topic alone. "Just make sure we don’t stand out too much during all this. The last thing we want is unwanted attention. It’s not too bad here in Federal City, but once we enter the warring nations, things will get a lot more complicated if people know why we’re there."

They talked and bantered until they were finally outside the city limits.

No longer within sight of any unwanted spectators, Jack released both Bowzer and Appa from storage. Jack rubbed Appa’s head, stroking his feathers to keep them aligned and unruffled. "Hop on everybody, and hang on tight."

Lina was the first one to dart up onto the giant bird’s back, followed by Maura and Eliza. Maynard was next to find a spot on Appa’s back, while Daleia and Keela were the last.

Rydel brought out Aiden and mounted the magnificent roc in turn. "Let’s get a move on or you won’t be able to keep up." Without any warning, Aiden took off into the distance, heading southwest.

"Hang on tight!" Everyone grabbed hold of Appa’s feathers as Jack led Appa to chase the speeding roc.

Though the girls carefully tended to their hair that morning, Eliza in particular, all their effort was lost in moments. The raging winds blew past their faces and their skin bounced and rippled from the pressure they faced. Their hair flew back as if the wind was trying to rip it off their heads, undoing all effort made to make their hair seem tame.

Maynard, on the other hand, retrieved a bottle as he held on with the other hand. Leaning in close to the bird while tilting his head sideways to drink, Maynard couldn’t help but laugh. He couldn’t hear Eliza shouts thanks to the wind but he could enjoy the disappointed look on her face as she tried to reign in her hair.

Jack was still unfazed and busy mulling over the forced conversation he recently had with Daruun. Even if he could momentarily distract himself, Jack’s train of thought would always return to worrying about endangering his friends.

’Jack, what’s got you so down?’ While laying across Jack’s lap Bowzer looked up to his friend’s solemn face. ’Is something wrong?’

’No... I’ve just been having a lot of my mind lately,’ replied Jack. ’Don’t worry about. Just give me some time.’

’Okay... But you can tell me anything if you need to,’ added Bowzer.

Suddenly, Rydel’s voice echoed in the minds of everyone,’ So, where exactly is this shrine? It might help if I knew where I was going.’

Out of reflex Jack opened up the map in his system and pinpointed Jin’s hidden shrine. ’Look’s like we’re heading for Sunset Valley.’

’Oh, you don’t say?’ The curious tone of the hunter’s voice gave a sense of familiarity. ’In that case, I’ll keep the lead. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard all about it and have an idea of where to go. Once we get close we can ask the locals but I can point us in the general direction.’

’By all means.’

Chapter 233

It didn’t take long for Lina to get bored with the scenery and start asking more and more questions about anything that came to her mind. Each party member took turns answering her questions, except for Maynard who just enjoyed drinking and occasionally adding a joking comment that would get Rydel to laugh.

Traveling in this way saved the team a lot of time and was much more practical. They still needed to camp out each night but they didn’t face much worry with that.

The only downside was losing the chance to gain EXP while on the road, but the party also knew there would be plenty of EXP waiting for them after they reached their destination.

Four days flew by as the party adjusted to their new means of travel. They were well within Prachten after crossing over both Sandros and Iscantor.

Now they were in a small village, searching for some more Intel about Sunset Valley. While doing so they made sure to enjoy a good meal at the local inn.

As the party found a table near the center of the inn’s tavern, they could already overhear a number of conversations that piqued their interest.

The paid close attention to the nearest conversation as it was the clearest and easiest to follow.

"That happened to you too?" Asked a burly man with rugged leather armor.

One of the other three men at the table nodded. "Yeah, it seems like it’s getting worse. A couple of months we probably won’t be able to enter that godforsaken valley."

"No kidding..." A different man at the same table scratched his left arm, or at least what was left of it.

The party’s eavesdropping was then interrupted by the waiter. "Hey, what brings you into town? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before."

"Just business," replied Rydel. "But what’s this I hear we hear about Sunset Valley? Something happen?"

"Well... We’re not supposed to talk about that, at least not while on the job..." A gold coin was suddenly flicked into the air, which the waiter casually caught and tucked away in his pocket. "I don’t know too much but I know that it’s getting pretty dangerous around there."

"I thought it was supposed to be a tourist attraction? You know, supposed to be a wonder for the eyes every sunrise and sunset, for all the lovers go to reignite their passion."

"In the past maybe, but not now. Apparently, the place is slowly getting overrun by more powerful beasts that just keep coming and coming." The waiter shook his head as he sighed. "It used to be my favorite place to take my wife but I’m too weak to do that now. Anyone under lv. 20 doesn’t come back alive. Anyone under lv. 30 will come back injured. Rumor has it that soon anyone under lv. 40 will face the same fate and it’s only a matter of time till the trouble rises and rises."

Jack tossed up another gold coin as he asked, "Got any idea what’s behind this?"

"No... I don’t." The waiter fiddled with the coin while he was deep in thought. "So far no one knows the cause or how to stop it. I just know we need to stay away if were not strong enough. That’s all I know but is there anything I get you the drink?"

Rydel chimed back in, "Brundies all around and juice for the young one. We’ll each take whatever your special is today."

"Coming right up." The waiter weaved in and out of the tables and quickly vanished into the back room of the kitchen.

While waiting for their order the party listened to everyone else, finding that their stories weren’t any different from the waiter’s. Maynard glanced Jack and asked, "So... Does this mean that... We’ll have to wait?"

Jack didn’t answer but Rydel did. "You think? We don’t have time for something like that, at least not right now. After we’re done with this, then maybe we can come back but keep your priorities straight."

"Way ahead of you, Rydel, don’t worry about me." The samurai lifted both hands innocently as if to remove all questions about his priorities.

The food came and went, just as good as any typical inn’s specials would be. It wasn’t amazing but it was nice to relax in a warm atmosphere and enjoy the comfort of a good night’s sleep in a well-maintained bed.

By sunrise, the party was already gone and cleared out of the inn, well on their way for Talmook.

With luck, they managed to arrive in the growing city by early afternoon, which led to some party members wanting to take some time and explore the city.

"We don’t have much time so we should just get going now," stated Jack. "Maynard, you already know what to do, so just make sure that Maura and Lina don’t cause any trouble."

Lina looked up to her big brother and frowned. "But Big Bro, can’t we all look around the city?"

Jack relaxed a little bit, not wanting to seem stiff when dealing with Lina. He hopped off of Appa’s back and helped Little Lina do the same. "Sorry, but we really don’t have any time. The sooner we stop that army, the better chance Trodar has for making it through this."

"Then promise me we’ll explore the city together when you get back," reasoned the young teen.

"Right now--"

"Promise!" Lina got close to Jack and stared deeply into his eyes, not stepping down or giving him any leeway.

The young hero scratched his head. "Okay... I promise that we’ll all explore the city when we get back." He wrapped her arms around her and gave her a quick hug. "Until then you better listen to Maura and Uncle Maynard. If you don’t do what they say, then the deal is off."

"Okay! Then I’ll listen. Thanks, Big Bro!" She returned the hug and then strolled to Maura and Maynard who had already dismounted from the giant bird.

As Jack turned to climb back on to Appa, suddenly, two hands wrapped around him from behind. "Be careful, Jack. I’ll miss you."

A slight smile showed as Jack turned around and wrapped his arms back around Maura. He let her head rest against his as she clung to him. "Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. We just have a few things we need to take care of first. Thanks to our pact we can let you know about everything while it’s going on, so don’t feel like we’re out of touch or anything, okay?"

"I won’t," replied Maura as she let him go and looked away to hide the water beginning to build in her eyes. "Everyone needs to be careful, remember that."

"You’re not gonna kiss her?"

In amazement, everyone looked back at Eliza who was obviously annoyed by Jack’s lack of sympathy. "That’s the least you could do if you’re not going to see her for who knows how long. Go on, you can do it."

Jack bit his tongue as he struggled to reply.

Before he could come up with something to say or he decided to acquiesce, Jack was bombarded by a set of soft lips pushing up against his. Jack didn’t fight Maura’s advance. He held her as she did so, closing his eyes and giving in to the moment.

Eliza smiled, happy to see Maura finally showing some initiative.

A moment passed as everyone watched with a smile, except for the blushing Lina. When Maura finally released Jack from her clutches she avoided Jack’s gaze but didn’t hide her bright red face. "Just be careful."

"I will."

The two went their separate ways, one mounting the giant bird and the other joining the two people at the side.

As Appa took off toward the northwest, Maynard gave Maura a little nudge. "So, you’re finally going to fight for him?"

"We should hurry, otherwise, we won’t find a good inn before they fill up," stated Maura as she took the lead toward the city.

Lina stayed close to her with some blush still apparent on her face as Maynard chuckled from behind

*****

Jack and those remaining with him made their way toward Limneer. They did manage to enter the country by nightfall, but they were near the border. In about a day and a half, they reached their destination, Zurden.

Zurden wasn’t a large city, in fact, it could barely be considered a city at all. But in all of Limneer, it was one of the biggest trade towns. Being near both the border of Trodar and Sandros, there was always a hustle and bustle in the streets no matter the hour or the day. Countless visitors would come in and out of the city to stay the night or just grab some supplies before continuing on their journies.

It wasn’t hard at all to enter the city while blending in with the many travelers but the party knew better than to ask the wrong questions and get themselves in trouble.

n order to prevent that, Rydel was selected as the spokesman for the party, letting Jack and the others speak to him mentally if the need would arise.

Once inside the city, the party traversed the dirt roads while weaving in and out of the foot traffic. In no time they found themselves surrounded by a number of inns of different shapes and sizes.

After scanning those nearby, Rydel led them into one of the shabbier and more commonplace establishments.

Chapter 234

Once inside the mood changed. The warm and busy atmosphere of the city streets morphed into the cold and distant air of the run-down inn.

"Can I help you?" A scruffy faced man rose up from behind the counter with groggy and tired eyes.

Rydel looked back to him without a hint of hesitation. "Just looking around for the right place to stay. Can we have a few brundies while we check out the place?"

In a blur, the man filled several mugs and the stench of aged alcohol found its way toward the party. "Sure. Got any questions for me?" asked the man.

"At the moment, no. But we’ll let you know if something comes up." Rydel sipped his drink and smiled as he motioned for the rest of the party to sit down beside him.

The tattered man returned to his duties or whatever else it was he was doing earlier before the party arrived and started their mental conversation.

’What are you thinking, Rydel?’ asked Jack.

’If you want things to stay secret, then sometimes places like this are where you can find the best option. For now, just listen carefully to see if you can learn anything.’

Everyone stayed quiet as they each tried to find a conversation within the tattered tavern. There were plenty of people there but they mostly kept quiet like the party. However, there were a few groups who stood out and didn’t fear to make noise.

"What do you mean it got away?!" A scarred and muscular man reached across a table to grab one of his companions by the throat. "I hope you got a good explanation for this?"

The threatened man didn’t appear scared as he shook his head. "It’s just like I said, the beast got away and we couldn’t find it anywhere, not a single trace."

The hand around the man’s neck tightened as the large man pulled his victim closer. "You call that an explanation? I call that excuses. I hired you to do a job, so why didn’t you do it?"

"It’s impossible to find that thing now." The man now held in the air started to show some signs of worry. "Not even you could find it, so how you expect me to?"

"Because I hired you! If you can’t do a job right, then you should’ve told me before I hired you."

"Hey! That’s enough!" shouted the scruffy man from behind the counter. "If you can’t play nice, then take your game somewhere else."

"Don’t worry, this won’t take long." A gnarly grin twisted its way onto the man’s face as his untrimmed fingernails started to pierce the other man’s skin.

"Ahhh!"

Just as the large, dirty fingers were about to crush the smaller man’s throat, a knife was suddenly stabbed into the large man’s arm, forcing him to drop his subordinate. "Who dares?! If you’re a man, show yourself!"

"I believe the owner of this establishment asked you to play nice or get lost. Since you can’t do either, I thought it would be all right for me to intervene," chuckled Rydel as he sipped his brundy, not even paying attention to the man’s savage face.

"Oh, you’re asking for it!" bellowed the man. "Men, let’s show him how we like to play!"

"Stop!" The man behind the counter slammed his fist into the bar and glared angrily at Rydel. "See what you’ve done! Now, I’ll have to--"

"Don’t worry about it." Rydel finished his drink and turned to look at the man’s scarred face while letting out a long sigh. "Hurry and get lost, because I play dirty."

The burly man wanted to laugh but didn’t find himself able. Before his laughter could leave his lungs, an arrow was in the midst of reaching his face.

Haphazardly the man lifted his arm, letting his toughened leather bracer take most of the blow, but was startled to see the arrow pierce not just his skin but completely through his arm. "Who are--"

Suddenly the man found himself unable to move. He shouted angrily, "Get him!" but the moment he finished his commands the others at the table stiffened up just as he did. "An enchanter?"

While he was trying to figure out who was aiding the archer, the large man started to sweat but it wasn’t from nerves. The mug in his other hand suddenly burst into flames, burning his flesh down to the bone.

"AAHHH!"

The scruffy middle-aged man who was at one point scared of the gang was now shocked by the party sitting in front of. They weren’t even standing and they had already rendered the large man and his gang completely unable to fight. Two of the women were obviously casting magic, one to immobilize and the other to set fire to the mugs, while the hunter, the apparent leader of the bunch, had his bow drawn and ready to fire yet again from the comfort of the bar stool.

"So, would you like to keep playing?" joked Rydel.

The targeted men suddenly found themselves able to move again, but they didn’t want to. Only the leader of the gang charged toward the bar.

However, he was intercepted by the casually walking Jack, who was already halfway to their table.

"Out of my way!" Pops and crackles sounded as the man clenched his fists in fury, ignoring Jack completely. At least for the moment.

When a resounding thud filled the tavern, the burly man looked down to find Jack’s fist ripping through the man’s leather armor. He screamed in pain as he was launched across the room and back into the table where he had sat with his friends, panting and struggling to breathe with his concaved chest.

Jack stood over all of them as Rydel spoke, "Just get out of here before you really start to have some fun!"

The large man would’ve loved to regain his reputation, yet his lackeys thought otherwise and picked him up before retreating from the inn.

In moments the inn’s somber atmosphere was restored, but the bartender looked at Rydel and his party in a new light. By the time Jack returned to his seat, the bartender gave them all a refill. "So, what is it you looking for again?"

"Just a place to stay without any eyes on us," replied Rydel, happily sipping the free round of brundy.

The scruffy man leaned in close to Rydel and whispered, "I may have just place you look. I’ve got another property a few streets down. It’s away from the main roads and pretty isolated from neighboring buildings. If you want, I can rent you the place."

As Rydel was about to respond, Jack mentioned the condition that he wanted to add. Rydel smiled and looked to the bartender. "If we can pay for the full month in advance and guarantee no visitors."

"For two hundred gold you got a deal."

"Done."

The two of them shook hands firmly, letting Rydel pass the man a storage ring in the meantime.

The man quickly inspected the ring, smiled, and pulled out a small bag from below the counter. "Here are the keys, don’t trash the place or I’ll have to charge more. Once the lunch rush is over I’ll take you there myself."

With that, he hurried off to the broken table. The owner cleaned it up as if nothing happened, replacing it with a different rundown table, which had the same marks of wear and tear.

A couple of hours passed until the bar started to grow quiet and fewer patrons were present. Leaving one of the servers in charge the owner quickly left the building and was promptly followed by Rydel and the party.

They weaved through the still busy streets until they reached the outskirts of town, a couple of blocks away from the main roads.

The distance between the buildings was more than the party had expected. The nearest building was almost one hundred meters away on either side, showing just how isolated the place was. Just like the inn, the place was rundown and well on in years. But it served perfectly what the party needed.

"That’s the place. Just make sure it’s all in one piece by the time you come back and return the keys. And if you need more time, let me know because I don’t have any other buyers asking at the moment."

Rydel patted the man on the shoulder and held out his other hand toward him. "Thanks. We appreciate the secrecy."

Again they shook hands and again the man accepted another storage ring as payment for silence. They parted ways after that, not saying another word nor looking back at each other.

The party quickly entered the old two-story building, which was more than big enough to fit them all. Though it seemed run-of-the-mill it, had all the amenities you could ask for on the inside, proving that it was a common occurrence for people in search of privacy to rent out such a place.

The first person to explore the entire house was Eliza, who hurried back to everyone else in excitement. "There’s even a bathhouse, so ladies first!"

Wrapping her fingers around both Keela’s and Daliea’s wrists, Eliza yanked them to the back of the main floor to the fully functional bathhouse.

With a sigh, Rydel sauntered into the kitchen. "Since Maura’s not here, I guess I’ll make dinner first."

Solemn as ever, Jack sat down at the dining room table not too far from the kitchen. He paid close attention to the serious expression on Rydel’s face. "Something on your mind?"

"Yup, just like you."

"Yeah... Want to talk about it?"

 

Chapter 235

Rydel’s hands froze before they started cutting into a large chunk of meat taken from his storage ring. "Only if you talk too."

"Only if this stays between us."

They both nodded. Jack got up and joined Rydel in the kitchen as the two started prepping the different ingredients for what Jack assumed was a soup or stew.

"I guess I’ll go first," Rydel chuckled glumly.

His serious demeanor slowly melted to reveal a faint depression inside his eyes. "I’ve got a personal grudge with the Limneer army. This is my first time on Limneer soil but my blood’s already boiling. I’m not usually like Maynard; rather than seek bloodshed and growth in battle, I would just search for a smarter way to solve my problems. But this is the one time that I want to cause bloodshed."

There was a silence between the two as Jack waited for Rydel to gather himself.

"Do you want to know why I decided to become a hunter?" asked Rydel. "Because of my father. We grew up in the small city of Vash, I’m not sure if you know it."

"I’ve been there." Jack noticed a smile on Rydel’s face but there was no happiness behind it.

Taking a big breath Rydel continued, "When I was a kid my father would take me hunting. He would show me the best way to track down game, how to handle a bow, how I should hold the knife skinning a beast when compared to fight a beast... He was a master hunter.

"After about a week of him showing me the ropes, I felt like I could do it myself." The proud hunter suddenly burst into laughter, the type that was self-mocking. "I felt like I could challenge the world, like every young idiot my age. That morning I left early into the nearby woods since we lived on the outskirts of Vash. Not sure how long it took but eventually I found some deer tracks, and you know what that meant.

"Slowly and carefully I followed them. I would try to stay hidden among the bushes and the trees, or least as much as a young foolish boy would.

"After some time I finally found him. It was a buck, a big one too. I knew that grabbing it would make me make my father proud. So I did exactly what he said; slinking up to the tree and finding my window, I pulled the small bow from my back and took aim... What do you think happened?" Rydel’s empty gaze met Jack’s as he waited for a response.

He thought for a moment before Jack shrugged. "Did he get away?"

"No. No, he didn’t," answered Rydel. "Somehow I managed to hit my target but he didn’t go down in a single arrow. The buck tried to escape but I didn’t let up. I followed behind it at my top speed but the buck was quickly getting out of sight.

"Determined, I still followed those tracks and after a few minutes, I found the buck... But I also found a pack of dire wolves.

"Apparently, I was stupid enough to forget that the wolves to be attracted to the scent of blood, even though my dad warned me many times in the week prior. I had lost track of time and my surroundings, only to find myself too far gone from home, where wolves were commonly found and my father warned me to stay away from."

Tense and rigid, Rydel struggled to keep speaking. "The buck didn’t get away. It was already dead, being torn apart by some of the wolves. The lead wolf was the first to see me and let loose a howl before creeping up toward me... I froze...

"Just as the wolf lunged at me, I turned to run. Thanks to that I was lucky enough to get bitten in the leg, and not anywhere vital." At the same time, Rydel pulled up his right pant leg to show a large scar on his calf, the lasting reminder that the wolf had given him.

"As I grew more frantic I heard the twang of a bow," added Rydel. "That giant dire wolf suddenly released my leg and fell limp on the ground. An arrow was lodged into his throat, leading to its brain. It was one of my dad’s handcrafted arrows."

Rydel let out a long sigh as his body started to relax again. "The other wolves also dropped dead, one by one, by those same arrows. Seconds later my dad was rushing towards me and did his best to patch me up while I was screaming and yelling in a panic. Eventually, I calmed down, but only after he picked me up and started to carry me back."

Jack could sense just how impactful that experience was for Rydel. But he couldn’t understand why that had anything to do with the Limneer army.

So he waited. He didn’t want to diminish the story and he had a feeling that Rydel wouldn’t have told him that without a reason.

"My dad scolded me a lot on the way home, but I can’t blame him. I needed that, otherwise, who knows if I would ever try that again," continued Rydel. "And once I got home my mom wouldn’t stop chewing me out. I was grounded for a month after that...

"They didn’t tell me right away, but apparently that dire wolf was disease-ridden and I was going to need medicine to make sure I didn’t get infected."

Jack started to hear the skin of Rydel’s hands being tightly rubbed together as if he was clenching a leather whip.

"Unbeknownst to me, my father took a trip to a nearby village so he could get the medicine for cheaper, that way we could afford it...

"He told me it wouldn’t be long and that I’d see him again in a couple of days. But it didn’t..."

It was the first time that Jack ever saw water buildup in the toughened hunter’s eyes.

"It took him five days... Not three... And when he came back it wasn’t with his horse or his bow... Or his arm...

"That was when we found out that Limneer had started raiding Trodar’s borders in an attempt to invade. It was the first time so no one was prepared or ready and the small villages couldn’t stand up to the Limneer forces."

Wiping his nose, Rydel blinked to try to hold back tears. "My father got the medicine but he was attacked on his way back... And he had to give up his arm in order to escape with his life...

"Because of me... My father lost his bow-wielding arm... And when we moved to Gilga, to ensure our protection, he was forced to become a trader and a merchant, which he hated and wasn’t too good at... But it was the only way he could provide for us"

Rydel could hear Jack gulp down his saliva as he tried to stay quiet during Rydel’s whimpering. Not another word was said.

The prep work was delayed for dinner due to Rydel’s story, but they still managed to get everything in a pot over a fire before the girls came out of the bathhouse.

Now with dry eyes, Rydel looked at Jack. "So, what’s on your mind?"

"Umm..." Jack scratched his head and looked around to make sure the girls weren’t nearby. "This stays between us?"

Without a word Rydel tilted his head and raised his eyebrow, looking at Jack like he was too stupid to read the mood.

"Right... I... Remember when I spoke with Daruun? It has something to do with that."

Rydel shook his head and sighed, "Really, you don’t say?"

Finding his rhythm Jack continued, "There was something that Daruun made sure to mention and talk about... It has a lot to do with the party and, in particular, the survival of the party."

"What is it? Are we all going to die?" asked Rydel in a joking manner.

"No, it’s just that... Some of us might..."

"And?"

Dead serious, Jack looked at the incredulous Rydel. His own stressed expression seemed to be the exact opposite of the relaxed and calm Rydel.

After a moment of silent confusion, Rydel spoke up, "You know, Jack, this isn’t our first time laying down our lives. Both me and Maynard fought in the war against the Zuran Empire and I’m sure Keela was near those same front lines as a healer. We both know that Daliea has seen her fair share of battle, possibly more than me. Sure, there are a few people who are new to this but I’m sure their feelings aren’t much different."

"But... But how can--"

"I thought you were an ancient hero?" Rydel suddenly asked. "Of all of us, you should be the one most accustomed to battle and death. In your time you caused more of that than all of us combined, even when compared to some minor wars between nations... And now you’re stressed because we’re putting our lives on the line?"

Jack shook as he stammered, "I, uhh..."

Standing still with eyes wide open Eliza did her best to remain quiet. She remained concealed in the hallway so that she wouldn’t interrupt the conversation between Jack and Rydel. Then she looked back down the hall to find Keela and Dahlia walking toward her.

Chapter 236

Eliza quietly scampered down the hall to intercept them. "Hey, I’m going to help the boys prepared dinner, so can you prepare the rooms upstairs? I’m sure they could use a touch-up."

Both Daliea and Keela agreed to help as they turned and made their way upstairs, leaving Eliza alone as she went back to the edge of the hallway and listened in on the rest of the conversation.

"Out with the Jack, come on." Rydel gave Jack a nudge to try and jumpstart his brain.

Jack grumbled, "It’s different than it was before..."

"And why is that?"

"Because... Because I..." Jack shook himself, trying to find the last bit of sense still inside him. "Because I care about you guys..."

"What... What do you mean?" Bewildered by that strange statement, Rydel gave Jack a goofy look.

Jack continued to slowly put his thoughts together and open up to the hunter. "Before... I didn’t really care much about others. It was totally different than it is now too... Before I wasn’t even here, and I had no clue who the other heroes were, nor did my actions affect the real lives of those heroes. But now it’s different... Now I’m here and not only is my life in danger but yours, as well as everybody else’s too..."

Even more confused, Rydel asked, "You mean you didn’t care about anyone before? Anybody?"

Jack let out a self-mocking chuckle but it slowly turned into a whimper. "No, I didn’t. I only cared about myself... And since we could respawn in the past, I planned all my tactics accordingly, not really caring about how many people died because it wasn’t real death... I thought...

"If you think about it... I’m not really a hero, am I?"

Only their breathing could be heard, along with the bubbling of stew. Suddenly, both Rydel and Jack heard a sound in the hallway. They traced the nearly silent sniffling back to Eliza who finally revealed herself.

Jack tensed up even more, now completely frozen in fear of disappointing his friends. But as he avoided Eliza’s gaze he suddenly felt warm as her body embraced his.

"Jack... Do you think we care about what you did in the past?" asked Eliza.

"Well... Isn’t that why your dad married you and me?" grumbled Jack, struggling to even reply.

"Maybe, but do you know why I agreed to it even if I knew nothing about you, personally?" whispered Eliza, making sure that the girls upstairs wouldn’t overhear them.

"I love my father, but he never let me do anything I wanted. You were the only way that I could escape that sheltered life that he gave. For the very reason that you were against the marriage, I agreed to it. That’s how I knew you wouldn’t mistreat me.

"Yeah, I’m too pushy at times and I’m sorry for that. But I didn’t know how else I could thank for helping me find my own life..."

Gently, she kissed his cheek. "That alone makes you my hero. So, I’ll go where you go and help you however I can. These past few months alone have been more exciting than the rest of my life combined, and that’s all thanks to you."

Choked up on emotions that he still wasn’t too familiar with, Jack couldn’t find any words to reply with. But Rydel laughed, "See, Jack? I told you the others would feel the same way."

"I guess, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’ll all be in danger because of me," reasoned Jack.

"You’re so stupid sometimes."

Eliza released Jack’s torso and placed both hands on his cheeks. She held him tenderly but firmly as she pulled him in close for a kiss.

After a few moments passed she released the emotion-filled hero. "Since we were kids, all of us have seen plenty of death, Jack. It happened when my mother gave her life for my father and many other times when the guild was in danger during its growing years. We all understand what we signed up for, especially after meeting gods face-to-face and learning what you have to do. If anything, you’re the only one stupid enough to not realize that till now."

Eliza fixed her hair and walked toward the stew pot. With a smile, she picked up a spoon and gave it a taste. "Not bad for a couple of boys. I’m guessing Rydel took the lead?"

"You guessed it." Rydel walked up and gave it a taste himself. "It’s almost ready. Jack, how about you go get the other girls and tell them it’s time for dinner?"

"Sure, I’ll do that." Blinking and blushing, Jack swallowed some saliva as his gaze left Eliza and he ran into the hallway.

"You know, that’s not exactly how I would’ve handled it," mentioned Rydel.

Shaking her head Eliza joked, "it’s only natural for his wife to know him better."

In minutes Jack returned with Keela and Daliea behind him. The large pot of stew was already resting on a towel in the center table as Eliza was gathering bowls and spoons for everybody. Together they enjoyed the venison stew and chatted for most of the night, happy to have Jack be more open and receptive than before.

*****

After talking throughout the night, the party knew what they were supposed to be doing. The following day was the beginning of their operation.

Thanks to Sterfen’s blessing, Rydel was chosen to gather information throughout the city. With his ability to sneak in and out of the property while invisible they would draw less attention to themselves and increase their odds of learning something they shouldn’t.

Keela volunteered to leave in search of supplies and anything else they might need during their stay there in the safe house. She borrowed the bracer that allowed her to be invisible and spent most of her day in the streets of Zurden after she disappeared from the others’ views.

Since they were hiding it meant that Bowzer was allowed to be out and about. The growing fox spent his time in the covered courtyard in the center of the property. There he was able to play with fire, as well as Dahlia and her Flame Tiger. It gave them time to bond as well as enjoy themselves and let the beasts relieve some stress.

Jack took the liberty to take an afternoon bath. He felt great as he soaked in the warm waters that came gushing from the mouths of old lion statues. He had long since washed himself and was now enjoying the stress relief of the tiny waves crashing against his skin.

"You’ve been here for quite a while."

His eyes jolted open as the relaxed Jack suddenly rocketed to his feet out of reflex.

"Don’t mind me," giggled Eliza as she gave him a once over with blush on her cheeks. "Since you were taking so long, I figured I would join you instead of waiting."

"Eliza!" shouted Jack. "What are you doing here?! I’m almost done, so I’ll just--"

Eliza clicked her tongue in an interjection. "What’s wrong? It’s not like I’m doing anything wrong, as your wife."

Her steps were small as she neared the bath and ever so slightly peeled away the towel covering her body. After checking the temperature of the water with her toes, Eliza smiled as she threw the towel to the side and entered the bath on the opposite side of Jack.

Redder than the raw meat he handled the night before, Jack averted his eyes from the exposed Eliza. But he couldn’t help himself as he kept his wife in the corner of his sight. Now it felt as if the gentle waves were coming from his pounding heart as it tried to leap out of his chest.

"What’s wrong?" As if she didn’t notice Jack stealing glances at her, Eliza walked to the side and grabbed the bar of soap that Jack had used earlier. "If you’re going to watch, then at least own up to it. Is it so hard to appreciate your wife’s beauty?"

"Uhh...Umm..." Nothing from Jack’s mouth was making sense.

"If you’re not busy, then how about washing my back instead of just peeping?" laughed Eliza. She turned her back toward him and held the bar of soap to the side. "Here."

Jack choked on his mumbling syllables, not even able to swallow his own saliva or cough to regain his composure.

"I’m waiting..."

 

Chapter 237

"I’m waiting..."

Finally, Jack started to wade through the water. He took his time until he could almost reach Eliza’s back.

"Go on, you know how to use soap, right?"

"Of course I do!" Out of reflex, Jack grabbed the soap after to her taunt. His hands shook as he rubbed the bar and gathered suds around his hands. Just before he touched a bare skin he hesitated.

"Hurry up already." Eliza then stepped back into Jack’s soapy hands, letting them rub against her. "Is it really so hard?"

Jack said nothing but he finally let his hands move across her back. With the rigid movements, he slowly lathered her shoulders.

"Gently, Jack."

Her soft voice brought a rush of blood to Jack’s face, and he was very glad that she couldn’t see him. He did as he was told and loosened his fingers, gliding over her skin until Jack eventually finish washing her back. "I’m... I’m done."

"Good, now you can do my hair," replied Eliza as she held up a small glass bottle to her side. "Here, use this."

"O-okay," stuttered Jack.

His hands became shaky once again, but not quite as much as they were at the beginning. Placing the soap back in her hand Jack took the little bottle, opened it up, and poured some of its liquid into his palm. As he rubbed it into her hair Jack asked, "Like this?"

"Softly, Jack."

Following her command, Jack was more careful as he ran his fingers through Eliza’s blonde hair.

The soft scent of newly blooming flowers assaulted his nostrils as he found himself getting closer and closer to her. Soon his chest was almost touching her back as he finished with the shampoo. "T-there you go."

"Thanks, Jack. Can I have my bottle back now?"

"Of course!" he quickly put it in her dainty fingers, finding it harder and harder to contain himself. "Is there... Is there anything else you need help with?"

"No..."

Only then did Jack noticed that while he was taking his time, Eliza had already washed the entire front of her body.

"O-okay..." Jack stepped back as he turned to hide his bright red face.

Eliza let out a long and audible sigh as she quickly finished cleaning herself. She got back out of the water and grabbed her towel, still not hiding from Jack. Her steps were extra slow as she walked away. Before she exited through the door, Jack could hear her soft annoyed voice. "You really are stupid sometimes..."

Once again alone in the bath, the blushing hero didn’t know what to do next.

*****

"Where is Daliea?" asked Rydel as he looked around the table.

As if in reply to the call the gray-skinned girl walked out of the courtyard alongside Bowzer. "Sorry, you can blame him." Daliea took a seat as Bowzer failed to explain anything and defend himself.

The hunter nodded and smiled. "Good, now I can tell you all that I found nothing, at least nothing big. I’ve got some more leads so today wasn’t a waste, but it will take a few days until I get anything major to report."

"Thanks, Rydel," stated Jack. "Keela, were able to find everything we need?"

"I sure did. Now we have enough fresh food to last us another week."

Before she could remove the bracer from her arm, Jack held up his hand. "You keep that for now. You’ll need it in case we need you to get anything else."

"Good, then I’ll have her grab some more shampoo," said Eliza. "Thanks to someone using too much, now I’m out."

"What do you--"

"Eliza, isn’t it time to serve dinner?" Jack then stood up and grabbed Eliza by the hand as they walked toward the kitchen counters.

Sauce covered ribs and mashed potatoes were quickly served and spread across everyone’s plates before people had time to question Eliza further but what she had meant. Everyone then thanked Eliza for the meal and enjoyed themselves before they went to their rooms one by one.

Both Jack and Eliza were making sure to be the last two people remaining in order to chat and talk about some things. But there was one last person who had other plans.

"Eliza, can you help me with the massages again?" asked Dahlia.

"Are you still having trouble with the legs?" Eliza clicked her tongue in thought until she remembered that Jack was sitting across the table. "Actually, that’s perfect! You’ll help Jack by giving him a massage and I’ll make sure you’re doing it right."

"Wait, what?" Jack looked shyly at Dahlia. "Did you say something about a leg massage?"

With a nod, Eliza smiled. "Yep, and to be more specific, the upper thigh. It’s a bit harder because the muscle is thicker and you don’t know whether you should push harder or softer so you’ll be the perfect test subject for Daliea to learn on."

"But I--"

"Now hurry upstairs and take your clothes off so they don’t get in the way." Eliza hurried to her feet and pushed Jack out of his chair. "We’ll be up in a few minutes, so if you want to cover yourself with a towel, then you’d better be quick."

Without a need for another warning, Jack took off, leaving Bowzer behind with two girls.

Daliea blushed as she imagined performing the more intimate massage on Jack and not a fellow woman. "I don’t know, Eliza... How come we can’t just--"

"Don’t complain, or I won’t teach you anything else," argued Eliza with her high and mighty finger up in the air. "Just do as I say and you’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not like anything crazy is going to happen while I’m there with you, right?"

"Right! Right..." Even though Dahlia had gray skin, her bright red blood made itself known across her small cheeks.

Psyching Daliea up, Eliza put both of her hands on Daliea shoulders. "You’ll do fine, I promise. Don’t worry about him. He may not admit it but I’m sure he’s just fine with receiving such a massage. Trust me."

A few minutes passed before the two girls went upstairs with Bowzer happily following them. Daliea started to knock on the door but Eliza just swung it right open. "I see you’re ready. Now, Daliea, you know what to do."

The goblin girl’s shoulders seemed to shrink as she got closer and closer to Jack, who laid across the bed with his stomach down and a towel covering his torso. She stood over him but still couldn’t find the courage to place her delicate fingers on his leg.

Eliza laughed, "Don’t worry, like I said, he’s fine with this." Going to the other side of the bed Eliza lined herself up with his other leg and took hold. "Just do as I do."

With a few deep breaths, Dahlia did exactly that. Both girls found their rhythm started to rub any remaining stress out of Jack’s system.

Occasionally Eliza would give Daliea tips or tell her to be more forceful while squeezing harder forcing a satisfied groan out of Jack as proof of her methods. By the time they had thoroughly rubbed down Jack’s legs, Daliea was feeling much better about herself.

Jack, on the other hand, had no way of hiding his embarrassment.

Eliza took full advantage of this and giggled, "Well, we definitely know that Jack enjoyed it. You can tell by the color of his face, can’t you, Daliea?"

Daliea didn’t mean to look but she couldn’t help herself. The sight of Jack’s blushing face burrowed in a pillow made her heartbeat flutter.

At the same time, Eliza snuck her hand under his towel and pinched his cheek while Daliea wasn’t looking. Eliza covered her mouth with the other hand, hiding her laughter as she stood up and made her way to the door. "Come on, Dalia. Let’s give him some alone time."

"R-right!" Now feeling a bit warm herself, Dalia bolted from the room, making it out before Eliza blew Jack a kiss and closed the door.

Jack finally removed his face from the pillow and took a deep breath. Just when Jack thought he was alone and he stood up, a surprised voice sounded within his head.

’So, you did like their massage.’

Turning his head to the side, Jack saw a smiling fox in the corner of the room and tried to laugh away his embarrassment.

 

Chapter 238

While the party was cooped up in the safe house three days passed by with little to nothing learned. Rydel was busy gathering more information and securing stronger lead as the others decided to pass the time with an experiment.

In the middle of the enclosed courtyard, Jack was building a small tower of wooden beams that were crudely cut and shaped, most likely bought at a discount from the local carpenter. To the right of that were a few iron ingots stacked on top of each other. And finally to the right of that was a small nugget that seemed to be made of a blue steel.

With a smile on his face, Jack hurried back to the edge of the courtyard and stood in between Daliea and Bowzer. "All right, let ’er rip."

Daliea nodded and patted her Flame Tiger at her other side. The tiger stepped forward with the bestial smile on its face.

Its fangs opened wide as red and orange flames spewed from his gullet and out of its jaws. It did its best to control the fire so that it would only target the center of the courtyard, the same place where the wooden beams, the iron ingots, and the blue nugget laid on the ground.

After thirty seconds the tiger closed his mouth and took a step back. The others then came forward and took a closer look at what remains in the center of the courtyard.

Eliza and Keela were also watching from the side but had no way of participating. So, instead, they cheered the others on and were curious to see who’s flames would be the strongest even if they already had a solid guess.

First, they inspected the wooden beams. They were still ablaze but were mostly intact after the thirty seconds, apart from some having split in half or fallen out of the pile.

Secondly, they checked the iron ingots. They were brightening in color but still didn’t manage to reach any shade of red.

The little blue nugget of the side seemed unaffected entirely but no one seemed surprised by that at all.

"I guess it’s my turn." While the others went back to the side Daliea used a steel rake to brush the burning beams and the heated ingots to the side. At the same time, Jack placed a new bungle of wooden beams and some ingots where the others once were.

A few deep breaths later Daliea lifted both of her hands. Bright red embers sparked and spewed from her palms as they gathered around the items in the center of the courtyard. 30 seconds passed and she quickly called off the flame.

Everyone was all smiles as they gathered together to compare her results with that of the tiger.

The bundle of burned a bit fiercer, as almost all of the wooden beams had cracked and fallen apart. The iron ingots had become slightly brighter than when the tiger had done so but still didn’t manage to reach red-hot. And of course, the blue nugget was again unaffected.

They scattered like before and left Jack alone in the center. He placed a new wooden pile and three new iron ingots after pushing the old ingots and broken beams to the side.

With one hand Jack’s casted fire started to gather and launch at his inanimate targets. Another thirty seconds passed and they checked his results.

What surprised them all was that he did worse than both the tiger and Daliea, albeit not by much. But they also had to remember that he hadn’t yet activated his flame body.

He quickly pushed the rubble to the side, replaced them with new sets, and that the others back away even further than they had before.

Jack let loose a low growl as his body expanded and burst into flames.

Unlike before Bowzer’s evolution, Jack’s level was unaffected by the addition of his flame body. However, the ferocity of his flames was far stronger than anything he had before. At the tip of his red-orange flames there were hints of white and everyone in the courtyard felt the heat wave wash over their skin.

Focusing on his targets Jack barraged the wooden beams, ingots, and the blue nugget with his fearsome flames. Those merciless thirty seconds seem to last much longer than the prior attempts due to the exhausting heat beating on everyone’s faces.

Jack calmed down and dispersed his flame body with a few deep breaths. With his legend-tier cloak keeping him clothed, Jack motioned for the others to come and check out the damage he had caused.

The pile of crude wooden beams was practically nonexistent with only charcoal remaining. The iron ingots had just barely managed to become red-hot and somewhat malleable. The blue nugget, however, still seemed untouched.

"The blacksmith wasn’t kidding" chuckled Jack. "I guess it wouldn’t be mythril for nothing."

Bowzer started jumping for joy as it was finally his turn to test his flames. Though it had been some time since he’d evolved, the fox had never had many opportunities to use his flame body or his new flames to the fullest extent since then. Now he could let loose and see just how powerful his fire had become.

The others stood back as far as possible. Eliza and Keela, in particular, were no longer in the courtyard but in the house with the courtyard door open.

A quick howl sounded as Bowzer suddenly engulfed his entire body in flames as his body grew and grew.

Jack then sent a message mental message to make sure that Bowzer wouldn’t grow too large and damage the courtyard by accident, so the Fox obliged and did exactly that, only letting himself grow to two meters in height.

Like Jack, Bowzer also had white in his fire but much more of it. The root of his flames was still bright orange as it turned to white and then at the tip there was a hint of black.

Even with Bowzer controlling the size of his flame body the intensity of his flames could cause damage to the courtyard without even touching a thing.

A fireball was coughed out of his mouth before Bowzer was forced to lose his flame body entirely by Jack.

Even if he didn’t breathe fire for thirty seconds like the others, everyone knew his flames were far more deadly and far more threatening with only a single fireball. The results spoke volumes.

There was no pile of wood, at least not anymore. Not even charcoal marked where the pile once stood, only dust and ash. The iron ingots had already started melting and pouring over each other. And little blue nugget of mythril had started to change colors but only to a lighter shade of blue.

The fox was happily panting with his tongue out, waiting for the team’s judgment as the others were in awe of his destructive power.

The Flame Tiger started at Bowzer with fear in his eyes as if he were looking at a king of monsters. Jack was laughing almost uncontrollably as he imagined eventually getting those very same flames for himself.

Daliea was the most awestruck. She turned her attention from the remains toward Bowzer. "With fire like that... You can almost ignore levels entirely so long as the gap’s not too wide."

Hearing that only heightened Jack’s excitement. Sadly, he had thirty-nine skill points leftover and not forty. if he had but one more skilled point Jack could upgrade his companion bloodline skill to level 3 and increase the ferocity of his flames.

Eliza and Keela, on the other hand, looked around at the courtyard. Their thorough inspection revealed some heat damage and warping in some parts, especially where Bowzer stood.

Jack had stood in the same place and had already damaged the granite but Bowzer had melted it and any other granite within a two-meter radius.

"Look what you’ve done now, Jack." Eliza shook her head as she laughed at her husband.

Jack laughed back, "What? Don’t blame me, blame the fox."

"True, but he’s your fox so you’re paying for it," added Keela with a snicker.

Everyone started laughing as they let the Hell-flame Fox roll around in the pile of ash particles like it was freshly fallen snow.

Soon a message reached everybody’s mind. "I finally got something good. I’ll explain more when I get back, but be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

After everyone got Rydel’s message the atmosphere grew slightly more serious, apart from the playful fox.

Daliea and Jack volunteered to clean up the courtyard and do their best to fix the little damages they could while committing to pay for the rest.

Eliza made her way to the kitchen and started to prepare a feast for their last night in town.

Keela was already gone and on her way toward the market to grab any last-minute items or supplies that they could need.

Everyone already knew what to do as they had spent the past three days talking about what preparations they might need and what supplies they should acquire for the plan. And now that they had a solid lead it was time to make their final preparations.

Chapter 239

Within a few hours, the entire party was gathered around the dinner table finishing a mighty feast that Eliza had prepared for them.

Rydel was the main speaker this time as he filled in everybody about the rumors of smaller military groups and companies being transferred to the nearby mountain range. It was being done subtly at first but now soldiers were no longer returning yet more were still be dispatched. He also mentioned that almost all military personnel in the city of Zurden was about to be d transferred to that very mountain range within the next day or two.

Considering everything they knew the party was able to deduce that the mountain range was most likely where they needed to go.

They then discussed what the next steps to their plan would be. It was understood by all that they would be using no fire while camping in order to remain hidden, and not stray far from camp. Also, in the morning they planned to visit the scruffy bartender and pay whatever they needed to fix the damages while letting him know that they may not return.

The girls were both excited and anxious as they moved forward with this plan. Rydel wouldn’t say anything but the fire in his eyes was enough to show everybody that he didn’t want to wait any longer. At the same time, Jack had an empty smile while he stewing in thought.

Night went by slow for some and quicker for others. Morning came and they all left the house and thanked the owner for letting them rent it.

They then left the city limits. Once they were far enough to not be seen or heard Jack brought out Appa and the party flew into the distance.

Not even half an hour passed before they descended and continued on foot in order to not get caught by possible military scouts.

After hours of walking stealthily into the mountain range, the party finally stopped.

Rydel, who had been scouting ahead, had returned to the group with some news about a military company not too far ahead. Based on the way they were going the party shouldn’t be too much further from the army’s camp.

With that in mind, Jack and the party decided it was best to find a place to camp not too far away but not too close as to be caught so easily.

It took some time but they eventually found a small mountain cave that winded for a little while till ending in a decent-sized opening.

Each party member took out some kari crystals and placed them around the new campsite. Thanks to the cave’s winding path, no light would be able to exit the tunnel. Cooking with a fire still wasn’t an option but at least they could have light.

It was getting late in the afternoon as the girls were setting up tents and the boys left to go scout out the army.

Both men were invisible, one thanks to his blessing and one thanks to a low level bracer.

Taking nearly 2 hours they found a good viewpoint and came to a halt.

The jagged cliffs around them made hiding easy with their invisibility. It also gave them a great view of the well-lit military camp that was hiding in the small valley within the mountain pass that wasn’t commonly traversed.

"It’s a lot bigger than I expected..." Jack couldn’t shake his uneasiness earlier and the sight before him only made him feel worse.

"We should get closer. We have to learn more about how they are, what they have, and how exactly we can stall them."

Though Jack couldn’t see Rydel, the tone in his voice assured Jack that an immovable determination could be found in the hunter’s eyes. "I’ll head back to the cave. Go ahead and scout out the camp but don’t do anything, okay? We don’t need to act or cause any trouble without planning accordingly and being ready for the consequences."

Since silence remained Jack was sure that Rydel was already long gone.

He found it easier to return to the cave than it was to find that cliff and managed to do so in half the time. Once inside the cave he was welcomed with cold bowl of soup.

In the center of their camp was a large kari crystal, a few chairs and a table were gathered around to the side of it. That’s where the girls gathered around Jack to learn what came next after he finished his meal.

"It’s a lot bigger than I had guessed," mentioned Jack.

Daliea chuckled and shook her head. "If I was going to invade a neighboring country I would use the largest force I could muster, so that only makes sense."

Keela and Eliza shared comforting smiles but said nothing so that Jack could continue.

"It’s going to be a lot more complicated to hold the army back, that’s for sure. We’ll have to put emphasis on our stealth and will probably have to change base camps a few times in order to stay hidden. Rydel is learning more now as we speak. Once he gets back, I’ll make sure to message Tralon and explain the situation."

"And don’t forget to fill in Maura and Maynard," added Eliza. "You did promise her that, don’t you dare forget."

With half a smile Jack looked back at her. "Right, I’ll do that now."

Jack then entered the men’s tent and took his time to inform both Maura and Maynard of their progress.

The girls passed the time chatting and talking. They frequented the topic of what might happen if they got caught and what they would then do to escape. However, the mood wasn’t somber or cold. The girls were actually quite lively and enjoying each other’s company.

Minutes came and went as hours passed and all the girls climbed into their bedrolls. The inside of their tent was warm and cozy, quite pleasant to sleep in. Only Jack was awake as he sat at the table while breathing in the cold night air deep inside the cave.

He waited, nervously counting the stalactites and stalagmites and then recounting them because they weren’t too many of them. After 10 rounds of counting Jack heard footsteps as someone entered the campsite.

"So, what did you find?"

Rydel’s deep breaths softly echoed within the cave as he walked up and took a seat across from Jack. "There are almost five thousand men down there. Almost two thousand from Sandros and the rest are from Limneer, and the count keeps rising."

Coughing to clear his throat some tension, Jack asked, "Do you think we can stall them?"

"It’s possible... Difficult but possible."

A quick mental message was then sent to Tralon. What followed next startled both Rydel and Jack. There was no reply in word but a flash of light suddenly filled the tavern and a figure emerged from that light.

"Jack, are you certain of your estimation?"

Rydel spoke up in response to Tralon, "It’s not an estimation and there are even more coming. I’m not sure how many but at least 100 more from Zurden alone, and that’s not including any other soldiers from nearby cities or towns that might’ve been recruited."

Seeing the anger pent-up behind Rydel’s stare, Tralon looked Rydel in the eye. "Take me there. Trouble of this magnitude is something I need to see with my own eyes. Then I can immediately report it to the Council."

"Then you’ll need this." An ordinary bracer was being held out to the elderly man with somewhat pointy ears.

Tralon took the bracer and immediately equipped it. Both he and Rydel then exited the cave in due haste.

Jack sighed. Tralon’s reaction was enough for Jack to realize that the mission’s true level of difficulty was far greater than the elderly man had ever imagined.

Chapter 240

"Jack." Just before dawn, a familiar voice echoed throughout the cave. "Let’s talk, you, me, and Rydel."

Rydel was walking behind Tralon with a relentless fire burning in his pupils. He remained silent as he and Tralon sat down across from Jack at the table while the girls were still sleeping.

"So... What do you think we should do?" asked Jack.

Tralon stroked his beard. "First I’d like to hear what you originally planned to do, as well as both your thoughts and Rydel’s on the matter. You two are much more familiar with your party and can better assess what you can and cannot do."

Given the invitation to speak Rydel took the initiative. "I think we should infiltrate the camp and assassinate the general. It’s the simplest strategy and the most effective so long as we pull it off. Plus, we may be able to blame the Sandros soldiers for that with Daliea’s help."

It was hard for Jack to refute the passionate Rydel but he sighed, "Wouldn’t that also put the entire party in immediate danger? And how would we exit camp after the general is dead and everyone turns on us?"

"That’s what we came here to do, right? We signed up for danger so why not?"

"What if we destroy their rations? And, maybe we can start some contention between the two nations?" Jack suggested.

"That would only delay the inevitable."

"But delaying is what we came here to do in the first place."

"True, but they can order food to be brought with the next batch of soldiers. And without anything big, like the assassination of a general, then I wouldn’t count on contention amongst the ranks to be very significant," added Rydel as stern as ever.

Jack opened his mouth but hesitated. "Well... All we need to do is cause delays, so wouldn’t it be better to be more covert and have the mission last a couple of days more to stay safe? If we get caught, then there’s no telling--"

"Just wake up, Jack!" The cheap wooden table creaked and rocked as two fists pounded nearly splintered the tabletop. "Some of us may die. Accept that. Right now, we need to stop that army in its tracks before it leaves for Trodar."

"Calm down you two," Tralon chimed in, making sure that Rydel didn’t run away with conversation in a flurry of passion. "Both ideas have some merit so there’s no need to demean each other."

The wise mage also saw a broken determination behind Jack’s façade. "Before you to two discuss this any further, let me fill you in on a couple of things.

"First off, you need to know that according to my intel not only does this army not exist but Limneer’s other forces still remain intact and unchanged. Now that Limneer has an extra army and they’ve rallied quicker than I would’ve expected, I’ll need at least five days, three at the very least."

Suddenly both Jack and Rydel got a better sense of the hopelessness that Tralon was feeling from his shaky voice alone.

Tralon continued, "Trodar’s military assets have already been divided into three and we’re barely able to hold on at the moment. Facing an extra army right now is one of the worst possible outcomes. I had estimated that they might be ready to attack within a few weeks, but after seeing what I just saw they could cross the border within a couple of days.

"Luckily, though I’m not allowed to fight I am allowed to magically transport the army. There’s no telling how many people we can gather together in just five days but I can transport them here at a moment’s notice if needed," added Tralon.

"No matter what you feel would be best, I beg of you to stall this army. If this army is ready to invade then that means the others are as well, and if there’s an army left within Trodar without anyone to hold it back, then that could mark the turning point in the war."

The passion in Rydel’s eyes was curbed and the determination in Jack’s eyes was gradually restoring. In the face of a dire situation they were lucky to have Tralon there to wake them up, at least a little bit.

"Which of the two strategies would you recommend, Tralon?" asked Rydel with a hinting smile at Jack.

He closed his eyes in deep thought. "The most effective option would be the assassination while also the most dangerous. Destroying their rations and their supplies could definitely work as a deterrent, but then you shouldn’t leave the mountain range because they might be ready to advance after more supplies arrives. Then, after that, your second time interfering will be much harder.

"Both strategies can work but they have differences in terms of consequences. I’ll let you decide the consequences you wish to face and then choose a strategy based on that."

A sudden shift of attention waved from Tralon over the Jack as Rydel and the old mage waited for his reply.

It wasn’t immediate. Jack didn’t dare be hasty with his decision.

"Jack, what do you wish to do? And what dangers are you willing to risk?" Tralon repeated himself in order to keep Jack from neglecting the answer and not confronting his fear.

"I... I... I’d rather not risk a party wipe if I don’t have to."

A deep breath left Rydel’s lips as he popped his knuckles to relieve some tension. "So... Which tactic are you choosing?"

"What if we destroyed not only their supplies but also the incoming supplies coming with the next batch of soldiers?" asked Jack.

"That’s... Not a bad idea, "replied Tralon.

The dying fire inside Rydel started to regain its fervor. "And what if I infiltrated the camp alone in order to take out the general while you and the others got as far away as possible?"

"No." That time Jack’s answer was instant. "If there’s a way for every one of us to make it out of this alive and unscathed, then I’d rather take that risk. I don’t want to sacrifice one person for the lives of everyone else."

"Yeah, unless that person is you..."

Caught with his mouth wide open Jack had nothing else to say.

"I would like to agree with Jack on this one, Rydel. I admire your bravery and I would ask you to do such a thing if the need were to arise, but for now, let’s plan otherwise." With one hand patting Rydel on the shoulder Tralon slowly stood up. "Since that is your decision, then I’ll take my leave and start recruiting an emergency army. Good luck, and make sure to report anything you may need from me."

Jack was still caught up on Rydel’s statement and only nodded as Tralon disappeared in a burst of light.

"I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up once everyone’s ready to discuss the plan." The hunter then hurried to his tent without so much as a glance at Jack.

Sighing and scratching his head Jack couldn’t stop wondering whether he chose correctly.

One part of him knew that Rydel was completely right and logical to want an assassination. It was clearly the best deterrence and would be the fastest way to fulfill the plan. But it also meant that whoever did the deed was unlikely to survive afterward and anyone else in the camp would be in danger.

Deep down Jack also knew that it was very possible to delay the army’s plans for a few days so long as they played their cards right. Though it would take more steps of action, they could receive the same result with more likelihood of everyone surviving.

A migraine was setting in as Jack kept flip-flopping between each situation and each possible outcome he could think of as the other party members slept quietly.