Chapter Twenty-Nine - Friends! 

***

Cricket was waiting by the entrance of the Adventurer’s Guild. 

She hadn’t accepted any work today, and that was costing her with every minute that passed. But then, she had never been one to sweat over that kind of thing, really. No proper clown did. She probably should have grabbed a job. Instead, she had packed her meager belongings up and had them stuffed in a bag under the table.

It was probably nothing.

Her instincts as a [Jester] told her otherwise, but those had certainly led her astray a few times. She knew better than to follow them blindly.

Yet here she was, waiting, head resting on her arm, eyes constantly going towards the door. She even occasionally let out a pitiful little whine of a sigh. Truly, she was the most broken hearted bug this side of the continent. None pined as pinningly as she! Were she any more able to pine after love lost, they’d stick a stake through her and pine her to an exhibit next to some butterflies and beetles.

Then the door opened, and for a moment, just a moment, she didn’t recognize the woman there. But those hips didn’t lie, and Cricket bounced up in her seat. “Maid!” she called out.

Rosario darted across the room, likely entirely unaware of just how fast she moved to come to Cricket’s side. Not that Cricket was physically able to not be excited when a woman was approaching her location rapidly.

“Cricket,” she said. “Don’t call me that right now. Just Rose will do.”

“Rose it is, then!” Cricket said with a grin. So, the maid didn’t want to seem like a maid? She scanned her real quick with an [Inspect] and confirmed it well enough.

Rosario Thorn 

[Seamstress] - Level 47

How very strange! “Where are we going?” Cricket asked.

“What do you mean?” Rosario asked right back. “I came here to say goodbye.”

“Yup! Say goodbye to everyone, and then we can be off,” Cricket replied. Her smile didn’t budge even a millimeter, though a rock dropped into her stomach all the same.

“Cricket...”

“It is I, thou are most correct. Cricket the Magnificent, and I’ve packed my things and am ready to go.”

Rosario stared at her, it went on for a long time. “You... I... okay. But we’ll have to have a talk, first.”

“I can talk. Quite well, in fact! Charisma is my second best stat, you know?”

“I figured as much, yes,” Rosario said. “It’s my dump stat, personally. Fine. Outside?” She gestured to the door, and when Cricket did a very necessary cartwheel in that direction (followed by running back to grab her bag) she followed Cricket out into the midday sun. Or... nope, it was still raining. Cricket frowned up at the sky. At least the big fire pillar was gone. Not the Castle just had a lot of smoke going on.

They didn’t go far, though there was a definite... towards-the-nearest-exit-ness to their general direction of travel.

“I’m... a dangerous person,” Rosario said.

“That’s hot.”

Rosario chuckled. “I’ve noticed that you think so. It’s flattering.”

Cricket waited for the ‘but’ but it never came. 

“Ah, if you follow after me, you might be caught in some of the trouble that follows me.”

“I’m not so useless as to be a burden,” Cricket said. “Besides, every queen needs a jester.”

“I’m no queen. I’m a maid.”

“Mhm, yes, and I’m a juicy slice of sirloin.”

Rosario rolled her pretty pretty pinkish eyes. “You’re some sort of meat, already. Meathead, maybe.” Oh-hoh! Puns! Two could play at that game. But before Cricket got started, Rosario kept on. “It’s strange, but I do consider you a friend. So, in the spirit of that friendship, I’d be remiss not to give you a chance.” 

She walked into an alley, and Cricket followed, much in the way that a young woman ought not. 

Rosario turned, then muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘cratered seclusion’ before a new wall appeared blocking the entrance. It was the same sort of brick as the walls near it, and when Cricket moved over and poked at it, it felt about as solid as bricks usually did. “Neat!”

“It’s just an illusion,” Rosario said.

“A solid one?”

“A Greater one, actually.” She took a breath. “Cricket, I’m aware that you saw my level on entering the city. That wasn’t a mistake. I have three titles. I’m dangerous.”

“Still hot,” Cricket pointed out. “What’s your weakest stat?”

Rosario blinked. “Charisma. It’s at 81.”

That was a solid leap ahead of Cricket’s own best stat. “Neat! And your favourite colour?”

“Black? Are we playing games now? Cricket, I like your company, but I don’t want you following me if you don’t understand the danger you’re putting yourself in.”

Cricket smiled, but she let her grin cool off. That was... fair, she supposed. “It’s probably very foolish of me to drop everything and follow someone I’ve barely just met as she goes gallivanting around and causing disasters, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good! Then we have no problems,” Cricket said. “Doing the foolish thing is exactly what a [Jester]’s for. Besides, I’m due for a bit of trouble, and to be honest, I’ve little to lose.”

“I see. I suppose you haven’t levelled very much recently.”

Cricket blinked. “It’s been only months since I last levelled!” 

“Only? I... no, nevermind, a conversation for later. For now, ah, I need your assistance, if you’re to come with me. We’re going to Dawntown, in Aerie.”

Cricket whistled. “That’s a ways off.”

“It is. And we have no flying mounts. So it might be a while. Though I intend to move at an Adventurer’s pace. And I have potions. I stopped by the bank. But, moving at that pace as a [Scullery Maid] would be... suspicious, and I may have caused some trouble with that job already, people may be on the lookout for me.”

“So, you have a potion that can change your race!” Cricket guessed.

“No... I don’t know if that exists? Sounds like an item-shop kind of thing. But no, sorry. I was just going to change classes, jobs, I mean, to something less conspicious. Like this?”

Cricket stared. 

Rosario Thorn

[Sword Saint] - Level 100

“Is that one of your actual jobs?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“My dearest maidly maid...” Cricket shook her head quickly, setting her few bells to clinking. “Swordly sword saint? Ah, that is not inconspicuous. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.”

“I see. Then maybe one step down?”

Rosario Thorn

[Swordmaster] - Level 75

That would still definitely raise some hackles, but it was one level shy of being Titled. “Better. I take it you won’t be a [Swordmaster] in a maid’s dress?” Rosario was wearing a rather fetching pair of pants and a blouse. Cricket preferred her in a skirt, of course but she was partial to shorts and hose herself. 

“Of course. Give me a moment to change.”

Cricket fell onto her knees. “I will watch.”

“No, you certainly won’t. [Greater Illusion].”

Cricket waited with mounting impatience as Rosario changed, though... she could still hear the elf, so... “So... was there a spider in the castle?” she asked.

The sounds of changing paused. “Probably. Though that wasn’t why I did what I did. The... the Demon Lord is dead.”

“Oh,” Cricket said. She started to put a few more things together. Still, she wanted to keep things light. “Do you have a potion to turn someone into an elf?” 

“Turn someone into an elf? I... Elfstrogen? No, forget I ever said that. No, I don’t.”

Cricket grinned. She would not be forgetting that, even if she didn’t know what it meant. 

The illusion faded, and there stood Rosario Thorn. She was wearing pants again. Tight white britches with buttons on the side, for horse riding, maybe? They were tucked into tall boots of shiny leather, with metal armour over the knees. Pretty metal, the sort that was embossed and engraved and definitely enchanted. 

The top was... a lot. A shaped breastplate, tucked beneath a long black coat that had golden embroidery shaped like swirling flowers along the edges. It matched the filigree on her pauldrons and vambraces. There was, of course, a sword by her hip. One with a complex hilt made of looping metal pieces in a long blue scabbard.

“You look... very regal,” Cricket said. “Like a lady who has taken up beheading as a sport.”

Rosario sniffed, then she reached up and pulled her hair into a quick ponytail. Cricket refrained from asking her to do the same thing with her neck. They had just established that they were friends after all.

“It’ll do,” she said. “Do you think we should pick up some quests on the way? We’re heading all the way to Dawntown, and I plan on moving fast, but I... well, I need practice in combat, and you need a few levels on you.”

Cricket would usually stick her tongue out at anyone who said something of the sort, but Rosario had nearly nine times as many total levels as she did, and that gap was rather daunting. 

“I suppose we could pick up a few things to do on the way... like elfstrogen.”

Rosario sighed. “You don’t even know what that means.”

“I know that it bothers you!”

“It’s not too late for me to leave you here.”

“You wouldn’t, because I’m your friend~!”

***

Okay so...

This is awkward, but... I don't want to make this a pay-to-read story. But on the other hand, if I don't, I don't make money?

So... I'm going to pick the middle road, and just ask that if you've been reading this, maybe join for $5 if you can? And that way I don't have to deny people access to more story for free! And I can afford more art too, lol!

Such as...

Covers! By Jegsuu (above) and Sev (below) Obviously both are WIPs, but yeah! Art incoming <3