Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Chapter 10

The sun was well over the horizon by the time we were done coating everything that might have spoor from whatever fungus caused wendigos to form in the Vampire Bane potion.  I was pretty sure no one with a nose would ever want to use the bunkhouse again, even if someone repaired the damage.

Anton and Ausin were laid out on the floor in front of the fireplace, both of them snoring in blessed unconsciousness.  Jess was out at the well, doing her best to clean off the smell before we left.  I had given up and burned the clothes I had been wearing, and had already changed into a pair of brown linen pants and a pale green long sleeve shirt.  All of my clothing was starting to look a little worn, so I would need to buy a few new sets when I got to Greendown.  At least this set would blend in a little better with the forest.

I was cleaning and oiling my gear after reloading my wrist cannon.  While my hands were busy, my mind was keeping track of how quickly my energy levels were recovering.  My guess had been correct about it taking longer in this world.  Getting some kind of mental gauge on what to expect would take a few more tries, but a basic understanding put the recharge rate at somewhere near the fourth world I had visited.  Basically, I wouldn’t be able to use my Mage Class whenever I liked.  No waving my hand and winning battles automatically.

“Everything is ruined, and I hate my life.”  Jess stomped into the bunkhouse, holding the set of clothing she had been wearing away from her body while pinching her nose with the other hand.  “These were my favorite pair of pants!”

“So, I take it cleaning things didn’t go very well?”  I dodged the sopping wet mess that she threw at me, trying not to laugh as it made a splat on the wall behind me.

“Didn’t go very well?  Yes!  It definitely didn’t go well!”  Jess had changed into a set of my old clothes that were entirely too big on her.  “Now what am I supposed to do when we get to the city?  No one will hire me if I smell bad, or if they see me wearing these.”

“We’ll get things sorted, don’t worry.  There are a few small villages we have to pass through before we reach the city, and we can find you something different to wear there.  Or maybe somebody knows a way to get the smell out.”  I stood up and stretched before moving over to check on the two unconscious tinkerers.  “Once these two are back on their feet, we’ll head out.”  A quick healing spell on each of them wasn’t enough to make me feel dizzy this time around, now that I knew my limits.  And it was enough to make sure both were free of the wendigo fungus.  I looked over to Jess who was packing her things and getting ready to leave.  “I do have something important to ask you.”

“What is it?”  Jess turned to give me her full attention.  I paused to think about how I wanted to ask my question.  Finding out if this world had a system similar to mine was always a touchy subject.  Thirteen worlds I had visited had some kind of internal stat screen or device that produced a hard number system the people could use to measure their strength, growth, and abilities.  None had matched mine perfectly, but their versions had all been similar.  In the six that hadn’t shared a similar trait, keeping my own system secret had seemed prudent.  The one time I had let it slip, everyone thought I was crazy.  It had ended in a nasty mess I still regretted ever happened.  “James, is everything okay?”

“Yes.  I just wondered, if you had to measure, how strong do you think you are?”  I had a second reason for asking.  There was no basis for why I believed this beyond my own hopes and dreams, but if I ever made it to the world where my upgrade and stat screen system originated, I might be able to figure out who – or what – was responsible for yanking me away from my own world and tossing me all over the place.

“Oh, I don’t know.  Maybe as strong as a full-grown man who wasn’t part shifter?”  Jess flexed her bicep while clenching her fist.  “I’m definitely stronger than I look, that’s for sure.”

A sigh of disappointment escaped my lips.  She didn’t quote from a stat sheet, or mention any numbers.  This wasn’t the world I was hoping for.  “That’s good to hear.  Thank you.”  She looked at me with a curious tilt to her head.

“What’s wrong?  Did I fail some kind of test or something?”  Jess picked up her pack and pulled it onto her back.  “I promise you, I’ll be strong enough to hold my own in a fight.”  She looked at the hole in the wall where the door had been and swallowed hard.  “Against normal enemies, anyway.”

“No test.  I was just wondering.”  I picked up my own ruck and got it settled onto my back, ensuring all my weapons were in their proper place.  I had even managed to get my folding pocket knife back.  This world wasn’t the one that would bring me the answers I was looking for, but that didn’t mean I should slack off.  “I need to check your health, and then we can wake those two before we leave.”

She warily approached my outstretched hand, and I swirled a quick circle on her palm.  There was a moment of resistance, and then a trickle of my magic pushed through her body.  It detected some old injuries, along with a few minor points of resonance along her lower back.  Old scar tissue from being whipped.  Not enough of a concern for me to use my x-ray spell to see specifics, and more importantly there were no signs of a fungal infection.  Jess would be fine.  Any mental scars from a rough childhood were outside my abilities.  I let the energy stay in her body, where it would repair the few spots that might still bother her.

“Am I okay?”  Jess gasped as the knots of skin relaxed and smoothed over under her shirt.  “Wha-what was that?  What did you do to me?”  Her stomach growled, and I turned around so she could reach inside my ruck.

“It was a light healing spell, to make sure you weren’t infected with the stuff that turns you into a wendigo.”  I pointed a thumb at my pack.  “There wasn’t anything for it to fight off, so it healed some old injuries instead.  The energy to do so mostly came from you, so grab a ration and get some food in you.”  I felt her rummaging around for a bit, and then she tugged hard on the straps to close it back up.  Instead of her being grateful, I was getting the sense that she was upset.  I turned around to see her tearing angrily into the dry food.  “What’s wrong?  Did I do something wrong?”

Jess paused and wiped her eyes, then took a deep breath before meeting my gaze.  “You had no right to take away my scars.”  She turned sharply away before I could see fresh tears fall.  “They were a reminder.  A way for me to never forget…”

I let her trail off.  Whatever she had been through, it must have been pretty bad if her job in the inn was an improvement.  I reached out and stole a corner from the hard biscuit in her ration.  “I apologize for healing you without your permission.”  The dry biscuit tasted like burnt crackers, and I took a swig from my canteen to wash it down.  “But if there is anything I have learned through my travels, it’s that holding on to the bad parts of your past will sour your future.”  She looked up at me like she was going to argue, so I held up a finger to stop her.  “I didn’t say that you should forget the past.  It’s what shapes you in the now, but don’t let it define who you will be.  Wallowing in your misery helps no one.  Learn from it, and be better than the old version of yourself could ever believe possible.”

She turned away, eyes still brimming with tears.  “What would you know?  You don’t know my past.  What it was like growing up in the village – the only person with eyes like mine.  You’re barely older than I am.”  Jess hurried away, leaving me with the tinkerers.  Oh, how little she knew.  Just because my body was stuck at twenty-seven didn’t mean I couldn’t feel every one of my nearly fifty years of life.

Instead of chasing after Jess, I shook awake Anton and Ausin.  Both men were disoriented at first, but quickly got to their feet and started preparing to leave once they saw what time it was.  Neither man wanted to be in an unsecure building when the sun went down.  They were both sore and stiff from the ordeal last night.  Neither complained though, and were more than happy to still be alive.  We exchanged goodbyes, and I took a letter of recommendation from Anton that he claimed would help me get through the city gates without paying a toll.  I would have Jess look it over to make sure, since I couldn’t read what it said.

Waving farewell to the duo, I headed in the direction of the path that would eventually take me to Greendown.  The habitual damp from the daily rains made the forest smell like mold and rot when the sun managed to peek through the clouds and warm the wet ground.  I made it back to the trail, expecting to see Jess waiting for me.  She was, but she wasn’t by herself.

“Well, it’s about time you showed up.”  Corporal Leedy was standing with his sword in his hand, a round buckler shield held in his off hand.  Jess was bound and gagged, sitting on the edge of the trail nearby.  “I was beginning to wonder if you had gone off and left the shifter to fend for herself.”

“What do you want, Leedy?”  I subtly activated the bracelet that formed a shield around me, but I held back on actually projecting the bubble shield.  Instead, I was waiting to see what kind of light it would show.  I was genuinely disappointed to see it flash a dim yellow four times.  It meant there was more than just Leedy and Jess nearby.  “Why don’t you tell your friends to come out, and we can have a talk?  Who else is out there?  Murphy?  I know there is at least one more besides him.”

“This isn’t about them.  It’s about you and me.”  Leedy hefted his sword and dropped into a crouch.  “Once I beat you, I’m bringing you in for a trial.”

“You disappoint me, Leedy.”  I made no motion to defend myself, instead deciding to lean up against the tree next to me.  “Tying up innocent barmaids, springing ambushes on people, it really doesn’t speak well to the kind of person you are.”  I squinted at a thick patch of foliage behind Jess that was the most likely hiding place for one of the Wardens.  “Does it make you feel strong, picking on barmaids who have done nothing wrong?  This more of that vaunted Warden honor you talked about?  Makes me glad there aren’t any of you where I come from.  It would be terrible to have such evil around unsuspecting women and children.”

The bushes shook, and Murphy popped his head up.  “It ain’t like that, sir.  We really do help people.  Honest.”

“Shut up, Private!”  Leedy was almost shaking with rage, and his eyes flickered to my left.  Ah, so that’s where another was hiding.  Leedy took another step closer, his sword unwavering.  “Don’t listen to him.  He twists everything we do and say, gets in your head, and then–”

“And then you start to see that what I’m saying isn’t twisting anything.  Just pointing out the hypocrisy of your order, and what its true function is.  Not protecting the people, but keeping them in line, while those in power abuse the same citizens they are supposed to look after.”  I shifted my weight onto my heels, making myself even less of a threat.  “Prove me wrong, and I’ll go with you to the city to stand trial, no fighting necessary.  But deep down, you know I’m not wrong.  You are just going through the five stages of grief.  Denial, anger – where you are right now – bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  I don’t blame you for it.  In a way, you are dealing with the death of something you upheld as righteous and good.  Seeing it crumble to dust before your eyes is certainly traumatic.  No less traumatic than the death of a loved one.”  Leedy’s eyes widened, as something I said struck home.  His sword started to dip before the person to my left finally made himself known.

“That’s quite enough, traveler.  You will submit yourself to us, and come without a fight.”  A man in armor that had far more gold highlights than Leedy’s stepped out from behind a thick tree a few paces away.  The tension in the air ratcheted up to a new level, and I felt the weight of his gaze settle on my chest.  This man was a heavy-hitter.  A genuinely powerful mage.  “Otherwise, I will be more than happy to use force.”