Master Of None

Everyone met early in the morning right before the sun was about to rise. Walker had stored away plenty of no stale bread Hilda had prepared for the trip. He knew if he didn’t take it he was in for a scolding.

Surprisingly everyone else had woken up to send them off. This scene really made them all want to stay a few days longer but it couldn’t be so. As adventurers the siren song of a journey was impossible to turn down. After promising Lisa he would bring back something interesting for her I’ve eaten times she finally release his arm. Midnight was smart enough to keep an eye on her tail so Lisa didn’t latch in to her as well. The only person that wasn’t sad to see them go was walker father Garret. He instead couldn’t wait to hear about their experiences with the tamers guild. Walker had slowly begun to realize that his father may have had a secret dream of being a tamer. With Garrett shooing them out they were one step closer to treading a new path.

They had left early enough that those employed by the city had yet to clear all the streets. Many lower tier adventurers would accept this job as a quest since it was much needed in the winter. The parties that accepted the quest also would gain more rewards based on how much they did. This was why so many would accept it but that didn’t stop everyone from being happy they were not one of those parties.

They had not left through the east gate yet as a party but the second they stepped beyond the archway they were in awe. Why lay before them was a massive sea of untouched white. Only small plants poked out here and there, just tall enough to break the service and feel the wind. There were not many places disturbed by game animals yet as the snow was still too fresh.

”I’d say we should tighten out cloaks.” Gil broke the silence and quickly tightened the strings in his cloak to keep away the cold. He was the happiest with the gloves Lisa had made due to the simple fact that he was an archer. He need fine control of his fingers and gloves usually didn’t cooperate with that therefore, he often didn’t wear gloves when the cold set it. This was the first time he was able to properly stave the cold from his fingers while carrying a bow which put him is a very good mood.

Everyone tightened their winter gear then fell in to formation. Su took the lead with Laurence slightly behind to guide them. Midnight and Remey took opposite sides paired off with Riley and Elise. Stella had been coaxed in to the beast ring so she would t have to spend all he time fighting the cold wind. This was another weakness to Elise and her avian companions, if they didn’t have water or ice elemental affinities they could loose the ability to fly in the snow and wind. Walker took up the read, having the best senses now he would be able to deal with any attacks from behind while still monitoring everyone else. Onyx had found the little pouch on walkers shoulder to be his favorite spot. Through their bond he knew it wasn’t cold in the least for onyx. Naturally onyx was loving the new sights of the plains however few they seemed to be since it was winter. Walker couldn’t help but feel like onyx was learning quite a bit faster than the average monster would.

The two main concerns to watch out for were ice wraiths and snow women or snow ghouls. These were undead spirit type monsters. They often came in to being after someone died in the snow and would fall to rest once the snow melted.

Ice wraiths were almost snake like with large heads. They used their natural water mana to pull shards of ice to make their bodies. This gave them a vicious attack pattern of hurling razor sharp icicle and biting in to prey with extremely sharp ice teeth. The positive side they couldn’t reform their body instantly so as long as it was damaged properly it was defeated for some time before it could gather the energy to reform.

The snow ghoul or more commonly known as a snow women were more dangerous. It was often a spirit that would use falling snow and illusions. This was due to their water and light affinities. It would try to lure travelers a away from their path and in to a bad environment where they would perish. However to the trained eye they were easily avoidable. Their only attack was a breeze of snow to disorient those it wanted to lead astray. This attack was also easily shrugged off and due to its small patience the snow woman would often leave to lure another target. These monsters were only able to feed on mana and lacked proper bodies, there lay the need to lure prey in to a bad situation.

Walker spent time reading up on these two so he could properly give everyone a run down on the way out of the city. Leaving the kingdom would always be dangerous, but leaving prepared was just slightly less. The tamers were already familiar with this information but they had remained silent letting walker take the lead. The were the ones being escorted now and Laurence refused to take away any valuable experiences from the party. This wasn’t out of negligence but respect for a group he believed capable of standing on top.

They were heading north east hoping to spot a camp made by the Demi human rabbit tribe. It could take a few more hours to reach the area they normally rested at. Luckily the sun was visible so planning their own resting schedule was easy. Every three hours of moving they decided to stop to drink water and breath.

”I don’t know how we will survive when you leave. You’re special magic is too good!” Elise had really fallen in love with not carrying much gear. She hates the weight of it because Stella couldn’t easily pick her up and fly.

” don’t tamers have any way to carry things, like the beast ring but for food and gear? It sounds like something that tamers would have since they need to feed their partners.” Remey understood that walkers spatial magic was rare but she had assumed that tamers might have a little, how else could they easily feed big monsters while on a journey?

”That is true we do have something. Usually once a tamer gets strong enough we get another quest to gather certain items and bring them to a magic blacksmith same as our beast rings. From there they will make a bag, ring, or even backpack that can carry all food and equipment for our specific tamed beasts. The downside is those quests rarely show up since we have to teach certain requirements for our own system. I think I only know three tamers who have done it in my time with the guild.” Recalling his time meeting the master of the tamers guild who had been feeding his beasts Laurence laughed at himself. When he had see the guild master pull out half a cow from a satchel he though some sorcery was happening and fallen backwards. Unknown to him this was a favorite joke to play on I suspecting new tamers.

”Oh that would make sense, I would assume that a master tamer would get a skill that just allows storage in a similar way to them being able to store away their beasts?” Walker made the connection from what Laurence had previously told him about master tamers being given a skill to hide away their tamed beasts within their own soul.

”Exactly! There’s one master earth tamer that can open a stairway in the ground as long as there’s earth at their feet. It turns in to an underground pantry it’s super cool. But it’s not actually there you can’t dig in to it but it’s wherever she is.” Elise interjected wanting to show off her knowledge of the tamers guilds strongest members. Of course the takes of the earthen tamer Vanesa were widely known. She had been one of the few tamer ever to tame a giant bull worm which often caused havoc in the mountains for the dwarves. She had single handedly saved their largest mine from collapse. This alone had garnered immense respect from the dwarf kingdom. Since she was half human and half elf it lead to a stronger relationship between the two kingdoms putting some distrust to rest. It was truly amazing how some good could change the outlooks of whole kingdoms.

” I remember when my father brought that story home, he raved about it for days!” Walker couldn’t help but think back on the fond memory, but now he would be the one to bring back stories and rave about them. How jealous Garret would be if walker met Vanesa the earth tamer.