Control Comes from Within

I asked Ennin some more minor questions after that: good shops to buy well-made clothes and other goods, washing etiquette in the baths, just some trivial details that would make day to day living a bit easier. Before she left to go home for the night, she did mention that the details on academy enrollment would be available later that week, both in the Society building and the city center. I’d probably just check at the Society building, as it was closer to the inn. Finally, we said our goodbyes and she went back home, echoing her mother’s invitation to drop by their house whenever I felt like it.

Now that some of my questions on the mundane issues had been answered, all that was left was getting answers on the magical issues I had. To do that, I needed to join an academy. To do that, I needed to… well, I didn’t know what the requirements were for joining, but I’d find out soon. Later in the week, apparently.

So that left me with some time to start doing work and earning money. My short term goal: earn enough money to buy the things I wanted: new clothes, new shoes, a new rucksack or satchel, a notebook or journal, a quill and ink, maybe a new weapon? That was just off the top of my head. My long term goal: join an academy and learn enough magic to profit off it, then travel the world in luxury, or at least comfort.

I was in a damn magical fantasy world! It’d be a shame to not take advantage of the situation and enjoy myself as much as possible. I had a rare opportunity to broaden my horizons, and I would definitely take it. If possible, I’d travel all over the world, and see what this world had to offer. The food, the music, the sights, hell, maybe there would be some cool ancient ruins or something like that. Whatever I wanted to do, it would all start tomorrow, when I started working.

I was an official worker now. Or was it a workman? Ennin used the terms interchangeably, so both were correct, probably? I went to the bartender/waiter and ordered my evening meal, a roasted meat that tasted like duck, and some of the not-asparagus I had tried in the morning. And some kind of blue, sweet, citrus-y smelling fruit for dessert.

The dinner was so filling that I went straight to bed and fell asleep immediately. I woke up a bit before sunrise, the window in my room still dark. I rubbed the dirt and crust out of my eyes, then remembered what today was. And what happened nearly every morning.

I slapped my face with both hands, twice, to make myself more alert, then moved quickly. I grabbed my rucksack, put on the black robe that covered my t-shirt and jeans, laced up my boots, then headed out, locking my room door.

I ate as fast as I could without choking, not even taking note of what I was eating. It seemed like the kitchen was working at all hours, luckily for me. I rushed out of the inn, heading straight for the bathhouse.

There were torches lining the streets, fulfilling a similar role to modern streetlights, only these seemed to be suspended balls of fire in the middle of the roads. They were muted, but bright enough that people could see where they were going without crashing into anything.

Even now, there were still people lined up to use the facilities at the bath. After paying the entry fee, once again, shame warred with urgency, and urgency won out.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I stuffed my belongings in a locker, then quickly did my business. Afterwards, I entered the bath, having taken out my stuff from the locker, and proceeded to clean everything as much as I could. The white magical line that cleaned the bath made its way from end to end, but I got out before it could appear a second time.

I sprinted towards the Workman’s Society building, trying not to run too fast and sweat away my efforts to clean myself. There were very few people inside, and even some of the employees were stifling a yawn. I made my way to the task board near the back right corner of the room, and perused the tasks on display.

Looks like I beat the morning rush. I’m gonna have to wake up at this time everyday, aren’t I? Well, I guess I’ll find out if an essence-enhanced body can beat the human need for sleep.

The tasks looked a bit like official forms. The name of the poster, the task they wanted completed, the offered payment, an empty space that would fit a signature at the bottom, it was all presented in a sequential manner. Some tasks had pictures at the top, of animals or plants, but what drew my attention was that the pictures were in full color. Probably magic.

I saw some tasks could only be taken as a group. Of those group tasks, some specified the group had to be a team that worked well together and were familiar with each other, and some left it vague, and I guessed that meant any group of random strangers could do those tasks.

I looked for a solo task that I could do, preferably a laborer or gathering one, and saw a few. I took two: one requesting three hundred berries from the nearby forest south of the city, and another one requesting an assistant to do scut work in a tier 5 restaurant from midday to midnight. I made my way to the counter, holding the pieces of paper.

“Hi, is there any additional information I should know about either of these tasks?” I asked an elderly man standing behind the counter. He took the pieces of paper, tasks, and looked them over. Then he said, “No, you’re good to go. The description of the berries are right there, along with likely locations. The forest to the south is only an hour’s walk so you should be fine. And the restaurant has garnered some minor attention, probably why they’re looking for new help. Card, please.”

I handed him my Workman’s Society ID card, and he placed both it and the tasks on a metallic board where they were scanned for a second, similar to the white cleansing line at the bathhouse, then he handed the tasks and my card back to me.

“You’re a new blood, right?” he asked me. I assumed that was slang for newbie and nodded,

“You wouldn’t happen to have a basket for that berry collection task, now would you?” he asked, smiling deviously.

Shit. I saw the basket symbol, but didn’t make the connection. I just assumed it was–

“We lend equipment to newcomers their first month, just to get you on the right foot,” he said, as he bent down below the counter to grab at a woven basket, handle and all. He put it on the counter. “Go on, kid. And be careful in the forest. Beasts and other things have been known to show up at times, though the outer ring is almost always safe. Now, off you go.” He nodded towards the door, gesturing for me to leave, a kind smile on his face.

I nodded, said thanks, grabbed the basket, and headed towards the city entrance. I put my card and the tasks in my rucksack, almost sprinting as I rushed back to the west gate. It was easier to reach the forest from that side, as I remembered a branching path heading south from the main road outside.

The restaurant task says it starts at midday. It’s probably better if I show up a bit early. So just before noon. Figure it takes an hour to get to the forest, an hour and a half to get back factoring in fatigue and the weight. It’s roughly six? Six thirty right now? So I’ve got about three hours to pick all the berries I need or I don’t get paid for this.

I had to wait in line to exit the city, the guards checking everyone out, before I could start slowly jogging towards the dirt path that led into the forest. I couldn’t flat out sprint as that would leave me with no energy to actually do the task. Just a bit of a curve to the left, and the path meandered around the city walls to eventually lead into a grand forest. I had just been told that it was mostly safe, but I kept my bone knife on me anyways, just in case.

The sight of the trees only stunned me for a few moments, as I continued jogging towards the forest while following the path. The trees were tall, and I could recognize some of them by the trunks, as their wood was used in the interior of the inn. But for the most part, it was a sea of green, with odd patches of blue, red and even yellow standing out in isolated pockets.

I could hear the wildlife, chirping birds fluttering overhead and the squeaking of chipmunks or some other rodent scurrying around. The path was cleaner than I expected, ostensibly cleared out by the city or other workers. Further in, I could see the path abruptly become partially covered, taken over by vines and shrubs, ankle-high grass and bushes getting in the way.

I checked the task once more, noting the likely locations where the berries I needed could be picked. One location was next to the patch of yellow trees I noticed from the forest’s edge. Slowly making my way there, I kept my knife out in my left hand, while balancing the basket in the crook of my left elbow. I kept my right hand free to pick the berries, which I could see already, their lime green color almost blending in perfectly with the half-green, half-yellow bush they hung from.

It only took me about fifteen minutes to pick all the berries, as there must have been nearly a thousand on that bush alone. I picked them individually, as the task stated that the stems were unneeded, but it was still an easy, if slightly monotonous task. I picked a few more, overcounting by fifty just as a margin for error. Better to overperform than underperform, especially on the first day.

I was spooked when I noticed a couple of bushes shaking and rustling, and the sounds of twigs or branches snapping, and I turned around in circles, the basket on the ground, my knife at the ready. I had no idea how to use it besides the obvious advice of ‘stick ‘em with the pointy end’, but if it came down to it, I would attack once then run. My last experience with combat wasn’t exactly a confidence booster.

I kept rotating for a few minutes, keeping my eyes and ears open, and nothing happened. Well, it made sense. I was still near the edge of the forest. I could even see the path from where I was. The worker at the Society building even told me that the outer ring of the forest was almost always –

A beast showed up just then.

Safe. Shit.

It was a deer. An injured deer, with blood and wounds marring its…green hide. An injured deer with green antlers. That was limping towards the bush I was picking berries from, just a minute earlier. It definitely noticed me, as it stared straight into my eyes, its electric blue eyes meeting my plain brown ones. Then it continued to the bush and started eating berries, one by one.

I was tempted to try and tame it, as it seemed…not harmless, but preoccupied. It clearly didn’t see me as a threat, which was rather astute of it. Whatever caused its wounds were either too far away or already killed by it. And nothing else was in the vicinity, according to my admittedly limited senses.

Shit, just go for it. Worst case scenario, I die violently. And it’s not like it would be the first time that happened, right?

I whispered the nonsense words once more, gathered my essence, and launched it at the deer, still munching on the berries. There was no tiny connection I needed to hold open this time. Instead, the connection just formed. Just like that, no resistance at all. And suddenly I could feel another tamer link with this beast in front of me. When my essence came in contact with it, it bowed to me once, lowering its head nearly to the ground, then continued to munch on the berries.

I sighed, wiping the sweat off my brow. Cool. I was honestly expecting something freaky to happen again. Glad to know it doesn’t happen every –

“Graah! GraahgragragrahGRAHH!”

A fucking vorander showed up. Only it wasn’t goblin shaped. It took the shape of a black-furred werewolf, standing eight feet tall on its hind legs, and blood dripping from its mouth and claws. What the fuck! Where did it come from? Shit, the knife!

I raised my knife, ready to defend myself, and I saw it run on all fours towards me, the deer turning around to see its assailant once more. It was too fast, and it was heading for my left side, leaping off the ground, mouth open and slavering to bite at my neck or face.

I panicked.

I jumped backwards a few feet, and the deer kicked at it, catching it on the side and making it trip. My poorly planned retreat caused me to stumble on a bush and drop my knife, just a few inches from the vorander’s mouth, and it scrabbled on the ground to reach me.

I panicked even more.

I screamed and launched my essence at it. I wasn’t even thinking clearly. I didn’t chant or gather my essence properly. I just wanted it to stop, and blindly reacted.

And the monster stopped.

Its eyes were wide open, black pools of death looking at me. Its mouth was still leaking saliva and blood, a disgusting stench wafting off of it. Then it got into a familiar position, kneeling on one knee, its head lowered in supplication.

And I felt a link form for the second time that day.

I was breathing hard, my chest rising and lowering rapidly, my lungs heaving for breath again and again. The adrenaline was making my head throb, I couldn’t focus on anything, my heart was beating too fast, I could feel every nick and scratch I had gotten–

And then it all went away.

The deer was looking at me, its eyes locked onto mine. Its antlers were dimly glowing, and I could feel its essence affecting me. Not healing me, but more along the lines of temporarily reducing the pain of the tiny scrapes and cuts I had gotten.

Magic. It had to be.

And that one second of eye contact rejuvenated me. I wasn’t healed fully, but my breathing was normal, and my mental state returned to what I was considering normal. I wasn’t panicking or in fear. I breathed deeply, trying to exert some measure of control over both my body and mind.

A sensation that would not last too long.

I had once again tamed a vorander, and just like last time, I wasn’t trying to. I wasn’t thinking when I did it. I hoped it would do something.

And it did.

The vorander was kneeling in front of me, while the deer ignored it and kept munching on the berries. And the wounds on the deer’s body were slowly healing. The bleeding had stopped, and the wounds themselves were slowly getting smaller.

It’s eating the berries, and using it to heal itself? And so quickly at that?

……..Can I do that?

Now, I wasn’t in the business of eating unknown, untested berries, but it seemed a shame not to try. After wrestling with the dilemma for a bit, I settled on a middle ground: I would save a few berries for later, seeing if anyone could tell me the effects of consuming them before I did so.

I didn’t have a separate container for the berries. And I didn’t want to risk them getting crushed in my rucksack or my pockets.

I looked at the vorander and the deer, remembering a mysterious aspect of using the taming spell. I dismissed the vorander by closing the link connecting us and it disappeared, most likely going to the same place my first tamed vorander was at. I then dismissed the deer using the same method…and it also disappeared.

I could feel its confusion, but otherwise, it seemed okay. The only feelings I could detect from the voranders were fear and obedience. They were afraid, and they would obey me, but they weren’t obeying me out of fear, however contradictory that sounded.

I attempted something I had only tried once before with Bully. I tried to ask the deer magically, or mentally, or telepathically, if it was in the same place as the voranders. My eyebrows jumped up as I received a feeling of confirmation. It saw two vicious monsters, one of which attacked it. The animosity was somehow gone between both parties, however.

Probably due to my taming them. Now that I have a somewhat reliable form of communication, let me see if I can….

I recalled the deer, opening up the connection, and it appeared in front of me once more, then started munching on the berries again. I thought this guy could sustain himself on my essence. Ah well, he’s probably just eating to heal himself. Now, let me put my theory to the test.

I placed my rucksack on the deer’s antlers, so it was hanging from them. “Don’t drop it, okay?” I asked him, seeing if it would respond to verbal prompts in addition to the magical one. The deer nodded once then snorted, and continued to eat the berries. I dismissed the deer again, and the rucksack was gone along with it.

Wait, don’t get too excited yet. Confirm that it worked first.

I asked the deer over our connection whether the bag was still on its head, and it replied affirmatively.

Hell yeah! I have an inventory, bitches! Oh yeah!

“WHOOOO! Oh yeah, uh huh, yeah yeah, yes yes yes, uh, how you like me now!” I celebrated by whooping and break dancing badly, fist-pumping and screaming. Then I remembered where I was. In the middle of a forest that had already proved itself unpredictable. Yeah, time for me to skedaddle on out of here.

I grabbed the basket full of berries, and since I was still unsure how many were left after the whole incident, I picked a lot more and just put them in. Then I summoned the deer again to retrieve my pack, before I dismissed him again, receiving a pout and an aggressive snort in return. I had to return to the city and complete my other task, but I also had to tell someone about the vorander that came from the forest in broad daylight. Once again, I had more questions and no answers.

Basically par for the course at this point.