Origin ARS 5 (23 page)

After his goodbyes had been said, Scott
slipped out of the shelter and moved to a quiet area beyond the
neighboring houses. Smoke rose high into the sky from various
points in the city. The fire fighters and local militia would have
to work overtime to end the fires and probable looting that was now
happening throughout the town.

A scant few minutes passed and a strange
warmth flowed through his skull, and then throughout his body. A
happy laugh echoed through the landscape of his mind. "Scott!"
exclaimed the welcome voice of his fairy BFF.

"Ero!" exclaimed Scott, happy at her return.
A soft chittering sound near his feet garnered his attention next.
He looked down and saw that Herbert had arrived as well. The little
grassrat sported strange new attire. "Herbert, what's with the cape
and the domino mask?"

The rodent stood up on his hind legs and
crossed his forepaws over his chest. Apparently, his attempt to
look like a little badass was his only response.

Ero separated from Scott's mind then started
to flutter around his head excitedly. "Scott! Scott! Scott-Scott!"
cried the excited fairy.

He ended up spinning in place while he tried
to follow her movements. It was not until she stopped that he
finally saw what she wanted him to see. "Ero! You're wearing a
dress."

A cute and cheerful laugh escaped her tiny
lips. "Yes! Isn't it pretty? It's one of the powers that I can use
in this world now that I've grown up a little and chosen a
profession."

The dress in question was a gossamer gown
that glowed and sparkled in the light. It was also sheer to the
extent that it had a diaphanous appearance. In short, it was
practically see-through.

"You gained the power to wear clothes?" asked
Scott incredulously. He was not certain that such a power could
exist in this world. Ero was almost as against the concept of
clothing as the NRA was against arbitrary gun-control.

The adorable laugh returned. "No, no. I
gained the power to spin spider webs, moonbeams, and dewdrops into
cloth!"

"So, clothes." said Scott.

Ero sighed at him. "Such a boy response. I
can do stuff! Cool Stuff. As my skill grows I can even weave larger
items. Hello, get what I'm saying?"

Scott smiled at her. "Yes. You can make cool
things."

"You don't get it." she pouted at him. "You
wear light armor. Hello."

"Wait, you're saying you can make
me
clothes?" he asked curiously.

Ero's laugh returned once more. "Yes, and for
Rhea, and Herbert. I can make them for myself as well. I'm a fairy
dream weaver now."

"That's great! My cute little fairy best
friend took up a trade." said Scott.

She smiled sweetly at him for a moment then
looked down, a slight redness appeared on her cheeks. "Don't tease
me so much. I'm in a delicate way, you know."

"Of course I won't." said Scott before
reaching up to give her a platform to stand on. Ero alighted atop
his palm then brushed her hand along her generous curves. Her
gossamer gown shimmered softly in response to the movement.

They smiled at each other for a moment then
turned their attention to Herbert. He was still a baby grassrat,
but he had chosen a path in life as well. Scott asked him. "Don't
suppose you'll tell us if you have a profession now."

Herbert inclined his head then made a dynamic
pose. Ero gasped then clapped her hands. "I see, he became a
grassdancer."

"A grassdancer?" asked Scott. More to the
point, Ero could tell such a thing?

"Yes, hold on. I'll translate." Ero turned to
Herbert and asked him to explain his situation. Herbert moved in a
series of dynamic dance moves then stopped. He chittered twice and
waved one paw in the air.

"I see!" said Ero. She turned to Scott.
"Since he is technically a guardian beast, he was allowed to choose
one of the warrior professions of his people. He chose grassdancer,
the grassrat version of a blade dancer."

"Oh, so he dance fights?" asked Scott. That
sounded fairly cool.

Ero smiled warmly. "Yes! He fights using his
natural agility and can use dance moves to bolster the party or
demoralize the enemy."

"Hey, not bad Herbert!" said Scott
cheerfully. The tiny dancer whirled around on the spot then moved
his head to the left and then back to the right.

A strange sense of energy, and a desire to
move, arose with the sorcerer upon seeing the dance-like movement
of his tiny little friend. He felt more focused, more capable
somehow.

"Oh wow, that was your special dance move,
right?" asked Ero.

Herbert nodded then chittered merrily. Scott
glanced to the little fairy and she explained the situation for
him. Ero said, "Herbert has to develop his own dance style but he
knows several basic moves. Stringing them together has allowed him
to learn at least one dance already."

Ero waited for further clarification from the
tiny dancer, and then said, "The move he just used was a short-form
version of his
Passionate Freestyle
dance. It raises
vitality and agility slightly based on his skill, and lasts for
just a short time longer than he actually dances."

"That's a sweet deal Herbert." said Scott. A
dancing grassrat, a fairy seamstress, a currently MIA goddess of
love and reincarnation, and a sorcerer who looked like he had
strayed from the circus. These were the people who might have to
save the world at some point in the distant future. Weather
dependent. Sunday journeys not preferred.

Chapter 6

The city of Valkovia had become a fallen metropolis
in the heart of the kingdom. The ruination of the city and the loss
of life after the battle were staggering. Several days had passed
since the end of the conflict and the rescue teams were still
pulling people from the rubble. Unfortunately, at this point they
could no longer be saved.

In a city of millions, tens of thousands of
lives had been extinguished. Even in a fantasy world where
resurrection is possible, such things happened with great
frequency.

Scott and his tiny team mates had taken up
the call to action. They had joined in the recovery effort to help
the city as best they could while they waited for Rhea to arrive.
She had to finish the last of her work so that they would have
plenty of time to spend together in coming adventures.

Ero lifted up a block of shattered stone
several times larger than she was then flew over to a nearby wheel
barrow. She could have changed to her larger form to do the work,
but it did not matter. She had the same strength in either form now
that she had ascended to the second tier. It would be quite the
surprise for anyone who might see the tiny fairy lift and carry
something that would make a grown man stagger.

Several younger faeries fluttered over to
Ero's position and began to giggle. They were first-tier faeries,
and could only lift small items such as cups or tea pots. "Wow, big
sister is so strong!"

Ero flexed her tiny muscles then grinned.
"It's the power of love!"

The faerie girls giggled amongst themselves,
and Ero wore the biggest smile she had ever shown to date. It had
been a fairy long time since she had seen another member of her
race. Faeries were rare, but still a bit more common in this world
than the other.

Herbert could not lift much, so he spent his
time dancing to the beat of the background music. His sweet moves
bolstered the morale of those around him and increased their
productivity. He was quite popular due to the status effects and
his cool attire.

People had approached Scott several times
with the interest of buying Herbert, but he was not a pet. He was
part of the family. If Herbert wanted to try his luck in the world
that would be his business, but Scott would not sell him off like a
common animal. He was polite to those people since it seemed
reasonable that they would not understand the situation. It was the
people who came up to ask him if he would sell
Ero
to them
that barely escaped with their skin intact.

Scott hefted a heavy slab of stone high
overhead and walked over to the dump truck that the city had
brought in for the clean-up in the area. It was a feat of strength
that would have been nearly impossible for an Olympic class
power-lifter, but one that was only moderately tiring for Scott. He
had been lifting and carrying such weights all day long. Still, he
was ready for the work day to end. Oh, how he was ready!

The chunks of debris that he, and a few
others in the clean-up crew lifted, were far too large for a
wheelbarrow. They were forced to carry them by hand.

"Hey, you're pretty strong." said a man with
the head of a wolf.

Scott glanced over to the wolfman then
smiled. "Same to you."

The wolfman chuckled softly. "My people focus
more on agility, but it's still good to have your strength
recognized."

"I see." Scott extended his hand.
"Scott."

The wolfman extended his clawed paw. "Angru
the Possessed."

"You're possessed?" asked Scott,
surprised.

Angru smiled a wolfish smile. "I'm a
bloodrager
by trade."

"Bloodrager? Is that some sort of
berserker?"

The wolfman nodded then reached down and
grasped a massive chunk of stone. He hefted it overhead with a
grunt. "Ah, yes. We invoke the lunar madness at will instead of
waiting only for the full moon. We can control it well enough that
we usually only attack our opponents."

Scott hefted a stone slab of his own then
said, "Usually?" before they both began to walk back to the dump
truck.

They offloaded their cargo then Angru
continued. "It usually works, unless there is bad blood between the
bloodrager and someone nearby. It becomes difficult not to turn our
rage on someone we hate."

Scott nodded politely then sought out another
stone to lift. While he did so, Angru spoke up once more. "What
about you? Where does your strength come from?"

"I'm a sorcerer." said Scott.

Angru's eyes lit-up. "A sorcerer with blue
hair? Tell me, are you Lunarian?"

"Ah, yes." said Scott.

The wolfman practically beamed with joy.
"Well met, moon brother! I had not thought to see one such as you
outside of Twilight Desert or the Mountains of the Dawn."

"I like to travel." said Scott lightly. He
did wonder why everyone wanted to call him their brother, though.
He sort of understood a little about his new race, but it did not
make much sense for someone besides another Lunarii to call him
brother so keenly.

"Ah, I understand the allure of the open
road. I mostly stay at the village nowadays since I married my love
and acquired my fourth girlfriend."

Scott glanced at the man-wolf. "Romance
taking up too much of your time?"

Angru sighed loudly. "I love them all dearly,
and often, but between my twelve cubs and five women it is quite
difficult to get out and ramble the wilderness."

"I can see that. I have enough trouble
dealing with the ladies in my life and there are only two." replied
Scott.

The wolfman clapped him on the shoulder then
grinned. "We are men with many blessings."

"That we are. That we are." agreed Scott.

"What are you two jabbering about?" remarked
another wolfman. This one was a bit smaller than Angru, and spoke
in a cocky, abrasive manner.

Angru glanced at the newcomer then sniffed
the air. His muzzle wrinkled lightly. "Your scent is as fake as
your fur."

The newly arrived Blood Tracker snorted at
Angru. "What do you mean by that? Want me to kick your ass?"

The larger wolfman shook his head. "Who are
you trying to fool? You smell like a wet dog."

Yellow fangs flashed darkly. The younger
blood tracker snarled at Angru. "Who are you calling a dog, you old
bastard?"

"I didn't call you a dog, boy. A dog is loyal
and true. I said you smell like one when he's wet."

"Whatever, I don't have to listen to this
garbage." muttered the smaller blood tracker. He continued to
mutter as he left the area.

"What was that about?" asked Scott
curiously.

Angru sighed. "The younger generation,
sometimes it seems like they aren't
right
."

"What do you mean?"

The wolfman shook his head. "I don't know,
maybe I'm paranoid?" He leaned closer to Scott then whispered. "But
sometimes I wonder if they are even really blood trackers."

"Oh?"

Angru nodded to him. "They look like a blood
tracker, but they smell wrong and act like hormonally challenged
idiots. I swear; it is almost like someone playing make believe,
like they are just pretending to be one of my people. It irritates
me."

Scott immediately thought about the blood
tracker he had dealt with on the casual server. The comparison
between that jerk and Angru was quite clear. Was it possible that
in some way Angru could sense when one of the gods was playing as
one of his people?

The long work day wore on. Scott learned many
things about Blood Trackers, and about Angru. They were both from
races that venerated the moon in some fashion. There was a long
association between the lunar races, and they generally got along
well.

At the end of the day, they collected their
pay. Between the three of them they earned roughly three silver
coins. The city spared no expense when it came to clean-up and
repairs. The cost for restoring the capital would be obscene, but
at least the city and most of its people had survived.

That evening they met up with Rhea on the
corner of Ivy and Way. It was the location of one of the more
popular restaurants in the city, the
Saucy Mynx
. But since
most people were too exhausted from the hard work of fixing the
city, or the grief at its destruction, there were few patrons.