Unknown Battle Coordination

Without anything else to do I leaned against the wall in the courtyard to rest. It was only after the heat of the battle had passed that I began to notice all the wounds I had accumulated. As I began to take care of them, Vesta stood to the side with an irritated look before kneeling down next to me and helping to clean my wounds. Under her breath she complained about me being a rash idiot that was going to get her killed one day.

"Thank you again for your help. We couldn't have done this without you." What I said made her blush under her leather mask.

"Just as long as you know that and can admit that you were an idiot regardless if your plan succeeded or not." She replied.

"In the future I'll make sure my plans are better." I said.

"They better be. The last thing I need is to have to spend time calling you stupid to a head stone." She said.

Sometime later Hrothgar and the others returned to tell us that the keep was ours. A few of Bornhilda's bandits escaped, some were captured, but most were killed. Without much worry that we'd be attacked tonight I found a room with a bed in it, set some wards and fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to Lariss snuggling in bed with me. My slight movements caused her to awaken from her lite dozing and look up at me with a smile.

"It seems it all worked out in the end." She said.

"Yeah I guess it did." I said.

"Was it like this in the forest, stumbling from encounter to encounter, getting out of them by sheer luck?" She asked.

"Hey I wouldn't call it all luck. The plan was decent and we had some skilled individuals on our side. Plus it helped that bandits are used to attacking on the open road, not defending a keep." They had pretty terrible tactics compared what I had been trained to do from an early age.

"Speaking of skilled individuals, your mage friend left a little before dawn. She said to tell you that she'll call in her favor, so be prepared." I could tell she was studying my face to see how I would react to Vesta's departure.

"And everybody else? I know Skadi was in bad shape." I said.

"It will take her a few days to recover but she'll live, so the next Bandit Queen will owe you one." She replied.

"Hmm, I'm not sure that she will be the next Bandit Queen." I said.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"Just a hunch." There were a number of things that had been bothering me, the least of which was why Wassa threw all the blame on me for her failure.

"Either way we need to get out of here as soon as possible." I said.

"Do you think they'll betray you after everything you just did?" She said.

"Yes. Maybe not now, but I don't see Skadi as someone that likes to leave loose ends. Using then killing me might just impress the Inner Circle that needs to give their approval for her to take the job." I said.

I got out of bed and began to stretch my stiff muscles. The tiny cuts on my body tingled as I moved around my muscles telling me how hard a fight it had been.

"Do you know where the Soul Shackles are?" I asked.

"No, Thelora claimed Bornhilda's Storage Ring and was the first into her room. I tried to look for them but came up empty. She most likely has them at this point." Lariss said.

"That's all the more reason to get out of here quickly. If Skadi gets a hold of them, the only thing better than killing me would be to make me her slave." I said.

As I opened the door to leave, I was met by a blindfolded Cedric. The blindfold was stained with blood. He was being led by Thorarinn.

"Oh, I was hoping I'd be able to catch you before you left. Can I have a moment before you sneak off?" Cedric said.

"I don't know what you mean by sneaking off. We were just on our way to find something to eat." I replied unconvincingly.

"Sure you are. Thorarinn, why don't you keep this young lady company while we talk." Cedric started to walk into the room, taking me by the arm.

After Lariss left, he started talking. "So I wasn't too sure about what I saw back in the marsh and I didn't really care. I still don't care but I've come to like you so I thought I'd let you know what I saw."

"You're leaving me in suspense, how about you get to the point?" I said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get to it. When you first asked me to help train you in spiritual powers I was a bit surprised because in the battle at the resting place I thought I saw you using some. After the battle last night I've become positive that you are." He said

"I don't see how that's possible. I can't even sense spiritual ripples or anything of that nature." I replied.

"That's what's so strange about it, I don't think you even know you're doing it. When I activate my Holy Avenger form my eyes can see spiritual connections. It allows me to attack spiritual pressure points. Also it makes it easier to see other spiritual spells that are in effect.

"When things started to get rough in the marsh and the courtyard I saw a spell surrounding you, Lariss, and Thelora. Then when the mage Rhea showed up it immediately connected to her as well. It didn't even seem like you cast it when she showed up." He said.

"What type of spell did it look like?" From the people affected I knew that this had to do with one of my blessings, since we all shared a spirit mark.

"The best I could tell it resembled an invocation that increases battle coordination. I can't be certain since I'm not as good at those types of spells. Self buff spells are more my bread and butter." He said.

"I can't be sure of what that was. I've never consciously cast a spiritual spell before. Once I get further into sensing spiritual ripples maybe I'll get a better idea of what it is." I said.

"I'm also letting you know because my form of the Holy Avenger spell is a weaker version, hence the bleeding eyes. Those with better spiritual senses are going to be able to see it clearly and what's more, being able to cast it on multiple people shows how strong you are. A lot stronger than you let on." He said.

"Thanks for the warning." I suspected part of the reason he told me this was that he hated the Church of the Holy Light and wanted me to avoid them.

"No problem you horn dog." My face contorted at what he called me. "What, you subconsciously cast a spell that connects you to three beautiful women and you don't think people will assume that you're a randy cad?"

I only groaned as I once again remembered what the leader of the Court of Masks said after the beautiful woman gave me her blessing.

"Well that's all I wanted to say." Cedric extended his hand. "I hope we never see each other again. This type of life doesn't really suit you."

I took his hand and said, "it doesn't suit you either. If you ever give it up, seek me out at the Adventure's Union."

"Ha, I doubt I'll take you up on that." He replied.

He left me so much to think about. I had thought that the blessing just led me to people that could help me with my destiny but it also had another benefit. This explained why I worked so well with Lariss and Thelora without any formal training. It had to be the same with the other three that I shared a spirit mark with.

Lariss and I left after that. At some point in the night our horses had all been brought into the keeps stables. After we saddled them we headed towards the main gate, and I was hoping that no one would give us a hard time leaving. With so few on our side, there ended up being only one person manning the gate.

He tried to stop us at first, saying that Skadi preferred that no one leave.

"It's fine, they're free to go." Thelora said from behind us. "Were you planning to leave without saying good bye?"

"Our business is done with. I agreed to three tasks and I've accomplished them. Nothing to stick around for." I said.

"Hmm, nothing at all?" She said with a smile.

I returned her smile as I said, "feel free to stop by the Union for a bite to eat or to just chat. Just as long as it is all within the realm of being legal."

"We'll have to see about that." She replied.

A little while after we left the keep I noticed Lariss wasn't looking too happy.

"I'm sorry I roped you into this and am very thankful that you had my back the past couple weeks." I said.

"Hmm, oh yes, you're welcome. After all you did help me with my personal quest this is the least I could do for a friend. We are friends aren't we?" She asked.

"Of course we are. From now on I don't plan to take any quests without you by my side." I replied.

"That's good to hear." She paused for a moment. "What about that mage, is she also your friend?"

"She is. Though our relationship is a little complicated." Upon reflection I should have left that last part out.

"Oh, it's complicated. Is she someone you'd also like to go on quests with?" She asked.

"I'd invite her if I could but circumstances are…"

"Complicated?"

"Yeah." I really should have realized where this conversation was going at this point, but I didn't.

She was quiet for a moment before she asked. "How about Thelora, would she be joining us if she wasn't a bandit?"

"I'd like her to." This was not the right answer.

"I see." She's replied.

It took me the rest of the trip back to Torinheim to figure out why she only spoke to me in short sentences the rest of the way.