T. A. Star
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31 - I Am Not a Tyrant
🕑 Added 2023-11-06 21:31:00 +0000 UTC
An hour later, they had finished talking with Dazien’s merchant contact as she offloaded not just the Shards but a large amount of monster materials that she hadn’t found a use for yet, including the large stack of demon bunny meat.
The trip had been slightly prolonged as they were required to fend off other Adventurers and merchants that had stopped to chat and congratulate Dazien on becoming an Adventurer, many asking for a sparring session later.
The amount of people that not only knew Dazien but seemed to truly wish to befriend him, boggled her mind. She quickly learned to follow Uriel’s example to handle this: stay silent and simply nod or shrug to any random question directed towards her.
She absently thought how odd of a group they must make. Her and Uriel seemed complete opposites from the outside, with only their silence as a commonality. Both of them trailing after the suave and charming warrior that gracefully handled anyone that approached him with a smile and genuine care.
As they finally made their way to a small cafe near the temple district, they got a private room and Phoenix got her first taste of Makera’s equivalent to coffee. It was nice and warm and sweeter than she vaguely remembered black coffee on Earth being when she managed to con- er, convince a nurse into letting her try some. She preferred the slightly sweeter version and added a bit of cream to it from this world’s cow variant that she hadn’t managed to catch the name for yet.
“So,” Phoenix began, “Did you just want to pry out my secrets?” she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen as they were watching the snow fall outside the window. The weather had turned suddenly when they were busy shopping and the sun had been hidden by clouds heavy with white snowflakes that fell softly on the fortressed city.
The Wayfarer turned to meet their gazes as she sat across the small table from them, “Or did you want to get closer to my Mentor through me?” she asked pointedly, having been thinking about Dazien’s words and behavior for a while now and that was the only motivation she had come up with. He obviously wanted something from her.
Dazien blinked at her for a moment then looked at Uriel and asked in concern, “Do I come off as a manipulative villain?”
The mage shrugged, “When you try to be secretive.”
The warrior gave a dramatic sigh, “This is why I normally don’t try to be.”
He shook his head then addressed Phoenix again, “No, Lady Fraser,” then he cocked his head briefly at a thought, “Well, I would love to learn more of your secrets, but that isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. We,” he pointed between Uriel and himself, “Want you to join our adventuring party.”
It was her turn to blink at them. The words did not quite register at first and her mouth spoke in utter bewilderment before her brain caught up, “Why?”
“You bring a lot to the table,” the gemite began explaining, “Plus, I’m sure we haven’t seen everything you’re capable of yet. You mentioned still needing more to unlock more abilities, so your value as a party member will only increase.”
His tone was confident but she was still having trouble understanding as he added, “From a purely tactical perspective you are a good addition to a standard group like ours will be.”
“What does ‘standard group’ mean?” she interrupted, unfamiliar with the term; or really anything involving adventuring parties.
Dazien paused, giving her a curious look, and clarified, “A group made of at least one of each Role. There are other specialist parties out there that might focus on performing a specific type of mission extremely efficiently, such as scouting teams made up of Supporters.
“I’m officially listed as a Forward Defender and, as I mentioned, Uriel’s a Backline Mage. So, you would be our Supporter,” he paused, taking a bite of the fluffy white cake on his plate before adding, “From a group cohesion perspective though, which is arguably more important, I enjoy your company and Uriel doesn’t completely hate it either.”
Phoenix glanced at the silent man for confirmation and raised an eyebrow as she asked with a hint of sarcasm, “Oh, not completely hated?”
Uriel gave that small smirk again, “You’re acceptable.”
She couldn’t help smiling back at him with a shake of her head, starting to understand the young man’s dry sense of humor, “So, because I don’t fall into the category of ‘obnoxious groupie that drools over every word his majesty here utters,’ I am worthy of a spot on your team?”
Dazien shrugged and nodded, “Basically,” then continued, “But we would both be a benefit to you as well, I believe. I was able to protect you during the encounter with the wyrmlings,” he pointed out, and continued, “Uriel was also able to defeat a foe that you mentioned having failed at vanquishing. I think we all compliment each other quite well.”
Phoenix sat back in her seat and took another sip of her coffee, contemplating his words. She was hesitant about joining a party for multiple reasons. Aside from the plethora of secrets surrounding her, from gods and divine quests, to her very origins and abilities, Paul had warned that her powerset might not be suitable for the average group. Dazien had made a strong case for her inclusion, however.
She didn’t want to dismiss the opportunity out of hand but she couldn’t accept it at that moment. The Protégé gave a small sigh, which caused Dazien to frown slightly, and she said cautiously, “I’ll need to talk with Paul first.”
“Paul?” Dazien asked in confusion then it clicked, “Ah, you mean Lord Wayland. Right, of course. That was why Mister Trayvious mentioned him to us. He overheard Uriel and I discussing you joining,” he gave a hesitant chuckle, admitting a bit sheepishly, “He said we should have asked your mentor before you.”
Phoenix blinked and laughed, surprising the pair, “I’m glad you didn’t listen to him. Paul might be my Mentor but he doesn’t own me,” she shook her head at the idea, “Like I said though, he does take training me seriously and I hold his opinion in high regard. I’m sure he will look into both of you and determine if it is a good path to have me join you or not. I’m starting to suspect he’s doing a lot of things behind the scenes when it comes to my adventuring career,” she said, muttering that last part, wondering once more exactly how Trayvious had so much information on her that she didn’t remember being on the forms she filled out.
The Astromancer took another sip of the warm coffee as she watched the snow some more while the others also enjoyed more of their drinks. She thought a bit more about the team up and then decided to try showing a little more trust in the pair, offering up her promised information, “I’m a Wayfarer.”
Phoenix knew now that it wasn’t really that big of a secret, since she had quickly found out that her status as one could be easily gleaned from her aura if people gave it a poke like she could now with the cinderen, runeforged, humans, avals and, of course, monsters. Her training with Paul had helped her better understand the things she was reading when her aura brushed against another and species was the easiest to discern.
Dazien’s eyes went wide in surprise but Uriel looked slightly confused and looked to his partner for answers, “You’re from a completely other world?” the warrior asked for clarification.
She nodded, “Paul was the first decent person I met in this world and he has protected and guided me since. That was a little over two months ago now.”
“That explains so much,” Dazien said, tilting his head and placing a hand on his chin as he thought aloud, “The unusual assortment of talents, not knowing about dragons or Sense Stones, never seeing airships, wait… if I remember the stories right, most Wayfarers don’t arrive with Aspects.”
“I didn’t,” she explained, “My, um, talents helped me get a couple quickly and Paul gave me one to complete the set.”
“What are they?” he asked curiously.
Phoenix hesitated but knew this question would need to be answered if they were going to be on a team together. She wasn’t sure if that was going to actually happen or not, however, it wasn’t like her class was some grand secret, especially considering the other ones she kept, “Star, Dark, Moon, and Sun which gave me the Celestial Astromancer class. Like I told you before, it’s not really known, so I’m not quite sure what role I might actually end up in. I still have all of my class abilities to unlock…”
Dazien gave a low whistle, “That is quite a lot. You only have two thirds of your powerset filled.”
She slumped a bit in shame then he grinned at her, “Yet you still became an Adventurer. That is quite impressive,” this time she flushed in embarrassment at the compliment. He continued speaking, trying to put her more at ease, “I still have two class abilities to unlock myself.”
“What are your Aspects? If you don’t mind my asking…” Phoenix questioned shyly.
Dazien gave her an odd look and said, “You don’t need permission to ask a question, Lady Fraser. I am not some tyrant that will have you strung up for the slight of being curious.”
Uriel cleared his throat and Dazien gave him that same betrayed look of mock hurt, saying defensively to his friend, “I am not a tyrant!”
“Bow before me?” Uriel asked the affronted man.
“That is one spell!” he retorted, holding up a single finger for emphasis, “And you know that we don’t choose the incantation!”
Phoenix giggled at the pair’s antics and they both turned to stare at her. Their gaze made her stop abruptly, “What?” she asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
“It’s nothing, sorry,” Dazien said shaking his head and then gave a dramatic sigh as he said, “This probably won’t help my case for not being a tyrant but it does help it for being a king,” the gemite gave her that charming smile that seemed to be his usual go-to and said, “My Aspects are Sword, Noble, Metal, and Potent, for the Warrior King class.”
“Warrior King? You really weren’t joking, were you? You’re planning to become an actual king?” she asked in amazement at the audacity.
He grinned and stated confidently, “It is the path I have chosen.”
She glanced at Uriel and asked, “And are you the King’s Mage?”
The cinderen nodded and said simply, “I have chosen to follow him.”
Dazien patted Uriel’s shoulder, “My most trusted advisor and friend for many years.”
“And what are your Aspects?” she asked the mage hesitantly.
The gemite didn’t answer for his friend this time, the smile dropping slightly as he looked to his companion, squeezing his shoulder gently in a motion of support.
Uriel gazed at her with his ember-lit eyes, mesmerizing her for a moment as though there were secrets hidden in the flames. He seemed to be assessing her but not in the way Paul, Trayvious, or Warrior had. It was like the mage was judging not only her trustworthiness but also wondering how she might react or if he even cared about it.
Then he said simply, “Fire, Ice, Storm, and Potent for Cataclysm Mage.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and the pair seemed to watch her intently. Then she leaned forward excitedly, “Are you serious? That’s awesome!”
They both seemed startled by her reaction and Uriel asked in surprise, “What?”
“Cataclysm powers?! That sounds super powerful! With Fire and Ice? That’s very Robert Frost. It’s very intimidating but explains why you’re so talented!” Phoenix said in a rush, thinking back to her video games and books about insanely powerful mages.
Dazien grinned brightly at her, “See Uriel? It’s not just me that thinks you’re talented!”
“After what he did to that Tundra Yeti?” Phoenix asked in disbelief, “Who would argue that he’s not? When I fought that thing it literally broke me,” she admitted with a shudder, then pointed out to the mage, “You’ll be able to save so many people with your power!”
Uriel frowned at that, “I’m not a healer, my powers are for destruction and nothing more.”
Phoenix nodded but pointed out pragmatically, “Sure, but when there’s a swarm of monsters invading the city, that’s what’ll save the healers, and others who can’t fight, from being killed.”
Uriel looked unconvinced but remained silent. Dazien was still grinning widely at her unexpected reaction and seemed like he was going to ask another question when an alarm started blaring from outside.
