Fight. Level. Survive.

Chapter 64 - Home Again

Getting out of the hideout was by far easier than getting in. Daylight streamed in, making it possible for Mason to teleport all the way to the surface without trouble.

Finding the hole had proved to be a pretty big detour from their journey to Sparksford, but with another ‘Other’ dead, a whole lot of loot and a level from the Harpies, he didn’t think it had been a complete waste of time. It had distracted them from talking to the Mayor about the prophecy, but progress was progress.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Mayry was quiet the entire way back, and as the gates came into view, she slowed down, a look of concern etched on her face.

She opened her mouth, hesitating, before saying, “Can I get in the trunk? I don't want anyone to see me like this, not yet.”

Mason was going to argue that she looked fine and that it wasn't even that noticeable, but the look on her face told him it would be better to just go along with it for now for the sake of her mental health. He knew having sudden massive changes to your body could stir up all sorts of emotions, and he understood that she was probably going through a lot.

Without a word, he took out the trunk and opened the lid for her, before she got in though, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. The smile she gave him made feel a little less unsure about the whole situation.

Walking the rest of the way to the gate, he was stopped by a guard, one he hadn't seen before. The guard, a bulky man with a stern expression, stepped forward, blocking his path with a raised hand.

“Name and reason for entry?” He said in a bored, monotone voice.

Mason felt a flicker of annoyance at the guard's stern demeanour but quickly composed himself.

“Mason Hughes," he replied, his voice steady despite his slight irritation. "I was here just a few days ago. I have a room at an inn here."

The guard regarded him for a moment, his expression unchanged.

“That isn’t what I asked,” The guard said, his tone still flat. “What is your business in Sparksford today?”

Rolling his eyes, Mason decided on trying the truth. He answered, “I’m here to see the Mayor. ”

The guard looked Mason up and down sceptically, his eyes lingering on Mason's tattered, torn armour that still had splatters of Harpie blood on it.

”I highly doubt the Mayor is taking meetings with the likes of you," the guard remarked bluntly. “I’m sorry, I cannot let you in, the town isn't allowing people in without good reason, and you do not have a good reason.”

The man was getting on his nerves now, but instead of arguing further, he nodded at the man and teleported to the other side of the gate, leaving the guard blinking in surprise.

Mason appeared just beyond the gate, his frustration quickly vanishing as he watched the guard searching for him, waving his sword around as if he thought Mason might just be invisible. He adjusted his armour, brushing off some of the dried blood; he didn’t look that bad… Okay, maybe he should change before meeting the Mayor.

Before he managed to make it to the Inn, he heard a gruff, thickly accented voice shout out to him, “Basilisk slayer! What in the name of chaos did you do to my armour!” Recognising the voice, Mason turned and saw the half-giant armourer, Geraint, walking towards him from across the street.

Mason raised his hand in greeting as the man approached. The huge man didn’t stop but picked Mason up in a hug and squeezed. Mason, who was a fair bit stronger than the last time this had happened, squeezed back. The half giant taking it as a challenged squeezed harder until Mason was certain his ribs were about to snap. “Okay, I give I give,” he managed to weeze out tapping the mans arm.

When Geraint finally released him from the bone-crushing hug, Mason coughed and eventually filled his lungs with air. "Good to see you too, Geraint," Mason said, massaging his sides where he had almost been crushed. "And, yeah, sorry about the armour. It has saved my life more times than I can count. I guess my luck must have run out; I went up against some Harpies, and they nearly tore me to shreds.

Geraint grunted, giving Mason a playful punch on the shoulder that nearly knocked him off balance. “Harpies?! Yeah, that would explain why the self-repair function hasn’t started. What the hell were you doing up a mountain?”

“Mountain?” Mason asked, confused.

Before Geraint could say more, a young blonde woman interrupted, rushing up to him. "Dad? What are you doing? You're supposed to be helping me with gauntlets!” She was much smaller than her father, cute but with a stern expression aimed directly at her father. Spotting Mason, she wrinkled her nose. "You should change your clothes... If the guards see you, they'll think you're up to something." She sniffed the air. "And you really need a bath."

Well, that was blunt, but somehow in her scottishesque accent it didn’t feel like she was actively trying to be rude.

"Nina! That was rude!" Geraint scolded her, then added in a hushed tone, "This is the customer I mentioned, the one who bought us the Basilisk Hide to work with.

Her eyes widened as she got a better look at his armour, “I’m so sorry, I thought you were a beggar bothering my dad.” She blushed and quickly added, “Not that you look homeless… except you kind of do….” She seemed to take a second and consider her next words before she said, “I’m Nina; I’m the ritualistist who worked on your armour. It was a lot of fun to play wi… work on.” She looked back at her father, “We really do need to go unless you want the shop to burn down.”

As he was somehow dragged away by the much smaller woman, he called back, “Come see me in the shop. I’ll see what I can do to patch up your armour.”

****

Mason felt a bit conflicted. He was about to walk into the inn, and he couldn't decide whether or not he wanted Nays to be there or not. On the one hand, they were friends, and he would enjoy catching up with her, but on the other hand, he suspected that she liked him, and if he was being honest, he liked her too. But he was kind of officially with Mayry; they never really had that chat, but due to Nays’ Chaos ability, she had the habit of accidentally ending up naked around him. He also knew that Mayry wasn’t the elf’s biggest fan and that the feelings were mutual.

He pushed open the door and sighed in relief when it was somebody else sitting at the front desk. His room was keyed to him, so he walked right up. The receptionist gave him a brief look, but didn't say anything.

Sitting down on the bed, he opened up the trunk he had been carrying and shouted for Mayry to come out.

“What are we doing here? We're supposed to be seeing my father.” she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “and what took you so long? Did you… stop to chat to anyone?” The last bit sounding just a tad bit forcefully innocent.

Yeah, he had definitely dodged a bullet not bumping into Nays; he wasn't about to stop talking to her altogether, but he would need to speak with Mayry about it first. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to having, and it definitely wasn’t one he was going to have now. It wasn't that he was scared of his girlfriend, but he… was a little bit scared of his girlfriend.

Fighting Monsters was easy; it was simple and something he was equipped to do. Having an argument with someone he was in a relationship with, however, was a whole other matter. He had never been very good at it and usually ended up caving immediately. He thought he knew Mayry pretty well but wasn't sure how she’d react.

With a smirk, he replied, “Yes, I bumped into someone, and we are here because it's been pointed out to me multiple times that I am filthy and apparently stink.” Seeing Mayry about to say something, he quickly added, “I bumped into Geraint, the half-giant armourer who made our Basilisk armour? Did you know he had a daughter?”

“Yeah, actually, Nina, right?” She asked, “She’s only a few years young than me, never really interacted with her much, but seemed nice enough. Go have your shower, you’re right you do stink.”

Feeling like pushing his luck a little, he asked, “Care to join me?”

To his surprise, she actually walked towards him, but as she got close, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “With you smelling like this? Not a chance.” Mayry said with a playful smirk, pulling back to look him in the eye. "But maybe later if you behave." She winked before turning away, leaving Mason to go wash off the grime, blood and dirt on his own.

*****

Once they were both clean, Mason changed into one of the sets of Basilisk armour he hadn't yet used. he had been putting it off for awhile because it took awhile for the leather to fit right and it ended up very uncomfortable. He would have worn something else, but he didn't have that many clothing options, he really should have bought some new clothes while they were in Trilil. He made a mental note to get some before they left.

Mayry got back into the Trunk still not keen on anyone seeing her in her new partial demon form. There were guards outside of the Mayors office, and to Masons annoyance. He recognised one of them, of course it was the same guard from the front gate who acted all high and mighty about letting him in.

He considered just teleporting into the building but didn't want to alarm anyone. Instead, he walked up to the door, hoping the man wouldn't recognise him now that he was clean and not covered in blood.

“Oi, you!”

Mason sighed, why was it that nothing could ever just be simple? “Who let you through the gates!” The bulky man stormed up to him and got up in his face. “don't you try your disappearing act this time cus I'll find you; when I do, I'll-“

Mason teleported right behind the man and walked calmly towards the door to the Mayor’s office. The guard spun and yelled at him, “I fucking warned you.”

He could use Mental Manipulation on the man, but he felt that would be letting him off too easy. He didn't like bullies, and this man really felt like a bully to him. He turned to face the man, put the trunk down and, with a smile on his face, said, “I told you I have a meeting with Mayor. Now, either you let me through that door, or you'll be going through that door.”

The calm tone in which Mason made the man hesitate, just for a moment, perhaps, if he had hesitated a little bit longer, he would have realised that it was the tone of a man that could back up his words.

The man's face contorted in rage, his fists clenching at his sides. "You think you can threaten me, boy? I'll show you!"

*****

Mayor Sparks was ready to go home for the night, he had had an okay day, nothing special. He was a bit sad that his daughter was still gone but he was confident that with time she would understand everything that happened and why they had to happen the way they had. he didn't fully trust the man she was with, but he did trust her.

Things were going to change in the next few years; he could feel it. Being a God, or at least an iteration of one, didn't really affect him day-to-day. It did, however, give him a sense of what was to come, not the whole picture, just a feeling, and this particular feeling wasn't good.

He was just hoping that it didn't come too soon, as he was still quite weak from protecting Mayry from that woman, Gael. He remembered when his powers were infinite, and now killing a mere mortal would leave him tired for months if not years.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a commotion coming from outside. He stood and opened his office door just in time to see one of his town guards come flying headfirst through the doors. Behind him, in walked the man who was supposed to be with his daughter.

The man held up in hand and waved.

The Mayor sighed; it was going to be a long night.