The Pinnacle Warrior

Walking through the streets of her hometown as an adult was a surreal experience. In truth, it wasn’t like Astrid was any taller now than she had been at eighteen. Well, maybe she’d grown a few centimeters, but it wasn’t a city made for somebody of her stature, so that didn’t really matter. The difference between 210 centimeters tall and 215 was negligible when most people were, at most, 175.

Instead, it was strange to see the people on every side who stared at her like some sort of strange mix of a hero and an unknown, unintelligible danger. It had been around three and a half years since her Bestowal at this point, so more than long enough to have become unfamiliar to people, but nowhere near long enough to have reverted to being a stranger to these people she had grown up around. Even so, they didn’t look at her like she was Astrid but a stranger.

“Despite you  being here for a war,” Brighid said, “your father will be excited to see you. I think he had less of a blind hope that you would stay out of all this than I did.”

“He was always better at seeing reality,” Astrid chuckled as she turned her attention away from the streets of familiar and new faces. This town had exploded in size, being one of the dozen or so encampments that the Duchess moved through. At least, that’s what her mother had explained, and Astrid had no reason to disbelieve her.

“And, since Jan is back, Ahna will be able to relax about the baby,” Astrid’s mother continued without even glancing at the warrior.

“Baby?” Astrid asked, focusing on the important part.

“It’s due to come any day now,” Brighid smiled. “So you’ll be able to meet the baby and Michael before you wander along to your next destination.”

“Jan said his oldest son’s name is Michael,” Astrid nodded, feeling strange. Her best friend had gone and had a child, who was, according to Jan, old enough to be walking and saying words. And Astrid hadn’t ever seen Ahna when she was pregnant.

“He’s a cute kid,” Brighid chuckled. “He’s absolutely got your dad twisted around his finger.”

“I can’t imagine that I’ll be much different,” Astrid laughed.

She was about to say something more when Brighid stopped and let Jan go ahead. He nodded once as a thank you and then jogged up ahead. He went directly up to the door of the house that Astrid should have grown up in and threw open the door. A couple voices greeted him, and he lit up as he walked inside.

A few seconds later, a man with a dark red head of hair walked out of the house, nodding in at what Astrid knew had to be Jan and Ahna’s reunion. Astrid stepped forward as Savraba turned around and saw her. His face, already softened with a smile, broke into a wide grin as he hustled towards her with his arms spread wide.

“My light!” He laughed as he took her into his arms and lifted her. Astrid giggled as he spun her around as effortlessly as always. Despite his Class not at all being focused on physical strength, he was a high enough level to be able to carry her around without too much trouble, and she felt like a little girl as he swung her in a circle.

“I’m home, Daddy,” she smiled as he put her down. He reached up to put both his hands on her cheeks, pulling her down to eye level for him. Staring into his face, Astrid was struck by the fact that, again, he was aging quickly. Though still bright, his hair had lost some of its luster and the silver that had been speckled through his hair now streaked it solidly. The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes had deepened, and some of the skin in his face was hanging a little looser.

“Yes, you are,” he answered. “And, once again, you have helped me to win a bet against your mother.”

Astrid didn’t say anything as she turned to raise her eyebrows at her mother. The woman laughed and shrugged, as if to say, “Are you surprised?” Then, the three stood together once again.

“So you’re looking to join the war,” Brighid said, letting out a sigh. “I suppose I knew that from the moment you appeared.”

“Yes, you should have,” Astrid laughed. “It would be pretty stupid of me to go into an active warzone and then expect to be left alone.”

Brighid raised an eyebrow. “You have become even more sassy since the last time we saw each other.”

“Well, I’m a grown-up now, and if I want to backtalk my mother for taking bets against me at every opportunity, I’m gonna do it,” Astrid shrugged. Her mother tried to glare at her for a moment before her face broke, she shook her head with a laugh, and took Astrid into another hug.

“The rest of your party is here as well?” Savraba asked, peeking around Astrid. Immediately, he laid eyes on the Wanderers, all of whom stood nearby and were taking in the view of the city. The streets were full of people, though not with the comfortable press in the streets of market day, but instead a constant bustle of a country stuffed into a single town. Fortunately, Muti’s size, and the fact that she was very obviously a Barbarian, combined with the equipment they all still wore combined with the whispered stories of what the Wanderers had done kept anybody from coming too close.

“Welcome,” her father said, reaching out to Skandr, Felix, and then Benedict. He shook each man’s hand firmly, smiling as he also reached a hand out and patted their shoulders. “There’s a war on, so we don’t have everything that we usually would, but feel free to ask for anything I can provide.”

Each of the three delvers gave polite greetings, expressing gratitude for the offer he gave. After that, he stepped up to Muti, squared his shoulders, and stared in her face.

“You’ve come to me, victorious. What new scars do you bear?”

Muti’s grin spread wide across her face as tears welled in her eyes. Astrid felt her eyes narrow as Muti spread her arms and dismissed her equipment. The light shirt and trousers she wore underneath remained behind, and she lifted her shirt with her left hand until it exposed just below her breast.

“The burn of a hydra’s acidic blood sought to take my life. Instead, it gives me only a greater history to share.”

Across her stomach, as she showed, a ripple of dense scar tissue covered her stomach. Astrid could remember feeling that burn herself as she had spent a charge of Physique to get Muti back into that fight, and even that hadn’t healed Muti completely. The hydra blood was ridiculously caustic, and nobody had come out of that fight particularly comfortable.

“A victory indeed,” Astrid’s father continued, bowing his head. “Return, feed yourself, and when the time is come, go forth and find glory once again.”

Muti’s smile remained as wide as ever as she accepted the greeting from Savraba. She then took him into a firm hug and nuzzled at his neck the same way that she did to Astrid or Felix sometimes. He stiffened, his breath catching for a second before he embraced her back. She only held him for a moment before stepping back and bowing her head.

“Thank you for giving me a greeting that has never been offered to me. You’ve given me a respect that no other has known or been willing to give to me. I apologize for any discomfort that my excitement offered to you. I can, once again, witness your strength as one who has overcome much.”

They didn’t speak any further as the Wanderers came back together. Brighid’s face still was obviously less than happy to be around a Barbarian, but she didn’t voice anything, instead just giving Muti a nod and turning to Astrid. Just as the Spellblade opened her mouth to say something, though, the door to the house creaked open.

“Astrid!”

Ahna waddled towards Astrid, and Astrid couldn’t help but laugh at seeing her extremely pregnant friend. Given how petite Ahna was by nature, it didn’t come as a surprise at all, but her belly stuck out so much that Astrid wondered if Ahna could get her arms around her own belly.

Astrid hurried forward, not wanting to force her friend to go any further than necessary, placing her hands on Ahna’s shoulders and holding her back. Ahna’s eyes widened and she inhaled a little bit in surprise.

“You’re very fast,” she said, blinking up at the much taller woman. “That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen somebody move.”

Astrid blinked a couple times, taken aback by having accidentally surprised, or possibly even scared, Ahna. She hadn’t sprinted, she just hurried to protect somebody that she cared about. Again, hammered home was the reality that she was no longer a regular Human. She could no longer walk into a city and be considered the same kind of creature as the people she’d grown up with. And something in her stomach twisted at that. She said she was home, she’d announced that this was home when she arrived, but didn’t really feel that way? This was a small town populated largely by Bronze tier people, and compared to them, there wasn’t any comparison.

She couldn’t continue to think about such things and instead just smiled. “Sorry, I was just trying to make sure you didn’t have to walk much. I can’t imagine that it’s very comfortable with that boulder under your dress.”

Ahna scowled at Astrid, scoffing as she did so.

“This is my second pregnancy, you think I can’t walk to the door of my house?”

“You mean my house?” Astrid replied, cocking her head.

“No, she means her house,” Brighid laughed. “We sold it to them a few years back.”

Astrid shook her head slowly, remembering how little she knew about how much had changed in the past years. And then, she smiled. “Even if you are more than capable of walking to your door, I hear number two’s on their way any day now. Go sit down. We can come in. Or stay out, if that’s what you prefer. I’ve got a chair I can bring out.”

“You’ll be coming in,” Ahna said, her voice a command as she turned on her heels and made her way back into the house. As she went through the doorway, she let out a long breath, the sound hissing through pursed lips as she leaned against the doorway.

“Are you alright?” Astrid asked, reaching a hand out to put on her friend’s back.

“I’m fine, it’s just a small contraction.” As Ahna comforted Astrid, she laughed and patted the much taller woman’s hand. “If this one’s anything like their older brother, it’ll still be a week before this goes anywhere.  Just keeps pushing his head into my bladder and making me almost pee while also cramping.”

“That sounds terrible,” Astrid said. “Are you sure it’s a boy? You  just said—”

“No,” Ahna laughed. “Just sometimes call them a him or her. Who knows before we see them?” 

The conversation died off as Muti walked almost painfully slowly closer until she almost loomed over Ahna.

“Can I help you?” the petite Human asked, just as friendly as ever.

“I simply wish to give you my sincerest congratulations on your pregnancy,” Muti said. “To offer your womb as the cradle of life for a child is the greatest sacrifice and honor I can think of.”

Ahna’s face went from polite to smug, a common enough transformation for those that knew her well. Astrid shook her head, laughing as her best friend from childhood and her best friend from adulthood came together, Ahna patting Muti’s hand. Muti now stood in only her comfortable clothing, scandalously underdressed for the middle of the street. Even so, Ahna didn’t shy away and simply spoke with Muti as the Barbarian obviously wanted.

“Finally somebody understands,” Ahna laughed. “So many people around here don’t realize what kind of sacrifice I’ve made.”

Even as she said it, Ahna’s face quickly turned towards Jan, looking him up and down to see if he was all right. Obviously, they’d already had their most important conversation as soon as he went inside, which was why they had been given privacy. Even so, the tenderness with which she looked at her husband standing in the doorway made Astrid smile. He was standing awkwardly, blocking the door and he was distracted by the inside.

“Well, everybody come in!” Ahna said, gesturing excitedly. “I can’t say that we have anything fancy for you delver types,” she elbowed Astrid as she said it, then scowled at the metal armor that scraped her elbow. Astrid raised both hands in surrender and dismissed her equipment down to her gambeson. She, under other circumstances, would have dismissed all of her equipment without a second thought, but right now, she was surrounded by friends, family, and plenty of strangers, passing by and surreptitiously or openly staring at her. She had grown much more comfortable in her skin, but she wasn’t about to show off her entire legs and belly with a hint of cleavage to anybody who happened to be nearby.

“I guess that’s better,” Ahna said, pushing on the supple leather outside of Astrid’s equipment. “Still not actually getting comfortable?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than just taking off all my equipment,” Astrid shrugged helplessly. 

“As I was saying,” Ahna continued, “we don’t have anything fancy, but we’ve got enough to feed you all, I’m sure!”

Then, without saying anything more, Ahna led everyone into their home. Jan still stood in the doorway, now holding a curious Michael, and Astrid came closer to the little boy. His auburn hair and blue eyes were adorable, especially combined with the round, soft cheeks, and Astrid found herself smiling involuntarily as she reached out and poked his soft belly.

“Hi there,” she said, her voice soft.

Between fear and hope, Astrid could say that she was expecting just about anything that could’ve happened. She should never have allowed herself to get so cocky. What did happen was absolutely not within the scope of what she thought would happen. Michael stared up into her eyes, blinked twice, and then farted. Then, his face split into a wide smile, showing a handful of teeth there as he turned and nuzzled into his father’s neck.

“Michael,” Ahna said, her tone severe, even as her eyes betrayed the laughter that bubbled up inside of her. The little boy simply giggled as his mother’s hands reached out and started tickling his ribs and armpits, squirming as he tried to get Jan to save him.

Any remaining awkwardness was broken by that, and the five Wanderers, Astrid’s parents, and Ahna and Jan all walked in. The house was, despite the change of ownership, largely the same as Astrid remembered. The same solid table stood in the center of the room, with the same doors, the same kitchenware, everything. It just wasn’t home anymore. It wasn’t hers, at least.

“You might’ve heard that there’s been rationing going on,” Ahna cautioned, “but make sure that you’re well fed, don’t you worry about that.”

“We are not going to cut into a pregnant woman’s rations,” Astrid spoke up for the rest. As Ahna tried to disagree with her, she shook her head, patted her waist where her spatial pouch hung, and said, “We can just as easily feed you without causing ourselves any trouble. In fact, it’ll probably be more easily, given how much we tend to eat.”

“I’m not going to invite you to my house and then make you feed me,” Ahna shook her head vehemently. “It’s not gonna happen, so don’t even try me.”

“But don’t you want food made by an innkeeper who lives in the middle of the Verdant Sanctuary? Somebody who’s an Adamantine tier, and has dedicated himself to creating delicious food? Especially if he is the best baker I’ve ever had bread from?”

“That’s unfair and you know it,” Ahna glared up at Astrid. Astrid just laughed and shrugged, smiling at her friend as she purposefully poked all of the spots she knew would make Ahna react.

“And,” Astrid continued, her voice, no longer teasing, but instead, earnest, “this way you can be sure that you’re eating enough for your baby to come safely.”

“I want to take care of you, is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all, but I just got here. Let me show you how much I’ve changed.” As she said it, Astrid didn’t ask for anything, though she could smell the soup on the air. “I’m sure we have something that will complement whatever you already have. We don’t wanna waste anything, of course.”

Knowing that she’d been beaten, Ahna sighed, nodded, and moved to collect the soup left covered over banked coals. The pot wasn’t too large, and when she hefted it onto the table, Astrid could see that it was about exactly the right size to feed the family of three that lived here. She was just as happy to have arrived and spared Ahna and Jan’s food reserves from her and Muti’s appetites. 

Without any need to coordinate, Astrid and Felix both pulled loaves of bread from their spatial pouches, as well as some of the fruit that Vera’d given them. The soup and rolls that’d already been on the table were quickly joined with three times as much food, until the point that Ahna was narrowing her eyes at Astrid with a look that made the Warrior laugh out loud. 

“You have a spatial pouch,” Ahna said, staring at Astrid. 

“We all do,” Astrid confirmed.

“So… what level are you anyways?” Ahna said, going to a cabinet to get the utensils for everyone. 

“Guess,” Astrid grinned, sitting at her childhood table. 

“I…” Ahna paused, unsure of what to say. “I guess I… You’re Steel tier, right? So level 60! No, 65!”

Even as she said it, Ahna looked like she regretted guessing as high as she did. Astrid shook her head and looked at her mother, waiting to see what she’d guess.

“84,” Brighid answered as soon as Astrid turned her attention towards her. “You’re confident, and the mana around you’s heavy.”

“That’s pretty apt,” Astrid laughed, turning towards her father.

“85.”

Brighid scowled at her husband maneuvering around the guess like that, but she didn’t argue. Everyone’s attention turned towards her, and Astrid and the rest of the Wanderers smiled at each other before Astrid pointed at Skandr, Benedict, Felix, Muti, and herself in turn.

“90, 90, 91, 91, 91.”

To make sure that everyone understood, she continued, “Mithril.”