Soul Knight - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

[Author note - I have attached some minor visual aids for Eirwen and Kaya here. I haven't worked much on what will ultimately become the actual cover for Soul Knight yet. These aren't final, but they are close to what I had in mind for the two characters. I'm having a tough time making Eirwen's extra details show properly, and why I only really included a head shot. I will probably put more character art as I make them in Discord. Note, if you haven't joined the discord, it is here: https://discord.gg/NbNuqxfffF - You can link up your discord benefit within patreon, by going to member benefits. See you there!]

Nick awoke from a strange dream, looking at a wall he’d never seen before. Made of wood, a number of wood planks neatly merged with branches of the tree. A small amount of sunlight lit the room, entering from small holes in the walls.

Made of what looked like bamboo, there were spaces carved out for light to come through, with flaps of leaves and wood that could be closed with a string; a makeshift window that could open and close.

His body was on a bed of leaves and straw, and he realized he had many bandages on him–his body propped up on its side, with a pillow wedged to keep him from rolling over onto his back.

His sword of his heritage was within its sheath against the wall, his torn up clothes laid out next to him. He was down to what appeared to be some sort of loin cloth underwear, something he hadn’t even known he was wearing–or perhaps, they put it on him. Off to the side he saw a baggy tunic, likely a spare clothing they had lying around set aside for him.

The smell of meat cooking entered his nose, though he couldn’t quite place the aroma. His stomach rumbled, as he realized he was quite hungry. The hard-tack of the bandit smelled too disgusting, and he hadn’t had a chance to eat anything else.

His dream was the weirdest thing. He had the typical naked in a classroom dream, his classmates all pointing at him and laughing. The unusual part, was there was a sheep was there too, and was giggling the entire time.

Nick had run, and the sheep had followed him, giggling the entire way. Before he knew it, he was giving the sheep a guided tour of his house. None of it made any sense, though he guessed that was standard fare for dreams.

He realized it was likely in the afternoon, based on where the sun was in the sky. He had been asleep for way too long. Nick heard a loud snore, a little obnoxious, really. Almost like someone was pretending they were snoring. He looked over, and saw that Kaya was asleep in a similar bed not far from him.

Only she wasn’t pretending. Her loud snores made him cringe at how much they likely hurt her nostrils and throat just to make them–though, maybe as a beastfolk, it was different for her.

Her body was spread out in a strange posture, her arms actually above her head, and one leg wide to the side. She was in much less clothing now, and Nick couldn’t help but appreciate her lean body.

Filing that away for blackmail material for later, he got up. He put on a rough-spun tunic that fit him well enough instead of his torn clothes, feeling his body was healed a lot more than he expected.

It still hurt as he moved, but it was like days or weeks of healing had already occurred, a strange herbal smell coming from his bandages.

Finding an antique-looking mirror, he was shocked at his own appearance. They had cleaned him, likely as part of cleaning his wounds. His blue eyes glowed with a strange almost electric blue shine, his long white hair nearly the color of his skin.

He had a swimmer’s body, his muscle definition prominent. His facial features certainly matched that of an elf’s, but he certainly looked more masculine than most he’d seen. Nick supposed if he said he was a prince, people may just believe it.

Walking out of the small room, Nick found the rest of treehouse would be about as small as one might expect. There was a small kitchen, and he saw the sheep beastfolk girl cooking. Off to the side, a small sort of receiving area where the ladder was.

She was younger than Nick and Kaya, and he would wager in her late-teens. Her soul was as white as her hair, flickering brilliantly inside her chest. Only, there was a green tinge to it, like cracks running through it.

Black horns curled in a circle from the sides of her head, resting in her curly hair. Her body was lean and lithe, looking a little frail. She had odd hoofed feet, almost looking like she was permanently wearing high heels.

The girl had a wooly-looking fur around her arms and legs, almost looking like leg and arm warmers, to Nick. She had cute sheep ears just beneath her horns, that extended wide, and seemed to wiggle with what she was doing.

The girl was carving meat while other meat was cooked and smoked, and he realized it was the bearcoon’s. She seemed happy, though she looked a little tired and weak. The girl spotted him, as he moved in her periphery.

“Oh! You’re awake. Welcome, Nick! I’m Eirwen. Kaya told me so much about you!”

Her voice sounded sweet and her words came out in a southern drawl. Nick was surprised that the girl almost sounded like she was from the Southern United States, just like him.

He grimaced, before forcing a smile. “All good things, I hope! She told me so much about you, too.”

She frowned in confusion, her face scrunching up cutely. “She did?”

“Sure did. She told me she had a cute younger sister, that she loved very much. That you were sick, but a gentle soul. That she wished nothing but the best for you.”

She chuckled, shaking her head as she sliced into more meat. “Kaya told you that, did she? But she didn’t say that, right? You sure have a way with words, Nicholas Jordan. I know my sister– my Kaya. I know she didn’t say any of that. She told me what she said to you. Just how did she tell you any of that?”

Nick froze, as she said his last name from Earth. It didn’t show on any of his menus, and he certainly hadn’t said it since his arrival. He forced a smile, as he remembered the sheep in his dream.

“Surprised I knew your name? I hadn’t believed Kaya when she said you were from another land, but after seeing your dreams, I understand a lot more than you–or her, realize. You are not the only one who has a strong essence of soul, Nicholas. So? How did she tell you those things about me, or are your honeyed words lies?”

Her pure white soul flickered dark for a moment, and she flourished her knife meaningfully. He chuckled for a moment. He felt a little violated, just how would she look into his dreams?

“It’s kind of rude to look at my dreams without asking, don’t you think?”

She gave him a dark smile, and flourished the knife in her hand. “Rights to privacy go out the window when you have so many knives and a sword around my sister. Trust is not given freely– it is earned. Are you going to answer my question?”

“You’re right–she didn’t directly tell me much of that, she actually lied and said her grandmother was sick. Still, she told me most of that–how much she loved you and that you were sick, by what she risked in getting your medicine. She knew Davon’s men were around the Havendale hunting her, and that each entry was a great risk for her. She told me how she wished the best for you, by how she spent her money over and over again for your medicine itself. Kaya’s cute, so she told me you were cute by association; I couldn’t imagine a sister of hers not being cute.”

She giggled, and looked at him knowingly. “You left out the gentle soul part.”

He shrugged. “You’re right. She hadn’t told me that. I just saw it, instead. Plus, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a sheep…beastfolk?”

She smiled, then her soul turned black as her eyes took on a murderous glint. “You need to be a little more careful, Mr. Jordan. The world of Orion is a lot more dangerous than you can imagine, and you better not hurt my Kaya–”

Nick rounded the table, and rubbed his knuckles on her head; giving her a noogie. While her soul was black, it felt like nothing was wrong; it didn’t give him the same feeling as the bandit full of sin.

She was messing with him doing something with her soul, probably giving him some kind of warning. He’d seen this nearly a dozen times on Earth, this was her version of the shovel talk.

“Ah! What–”

“You’re being a little too cheeky, Eirwen. You’re a little too young to pull a fast one on me–Holy shit.”

“Awawawa, what are you doing?”

His hands began feeling the top of her super curly white hair, scratching her scalp. “This is the softest thing I ever felt. Your hair? Anyone ever made a shirt, or something, out of it? That’s a sheep thing, isn’t it?”

She seemed to be enjoying the odd head massage and scratching he began giving her, her face taking on a blush, but she snapped out of it in distress.

“W-What? N-No way! Kaya and I work so hard on taking care of my hair, I’m not selling it. B-Besides, that would mean I’d have to go bald!”

Nick realized that her hair was already short, due to how curly it was. Cutting it would probably look bad. Still, he plopped his coin purse on the table in front of her. “It is pretty hair. Still, I don’t know how much this is, but all of that for some of your hair!”

The mouth of the purse was open, allowing her to see the many coins inside.

She blushed, as her sheep ears wiggled cutely. “W-Wow, that’s a lot! Er, but I don’t know…”

He withdrew a knife from his vest. “C’mon, it’ll grow back, but I’ll enjoy it forever. You don’t want to help me?”

She looked at the coins, but doubtfully. “When you put it like that?”

A new voice entered the fray, “Just what the hell are you doing to my sister, Nick? And what’s burning?”

“Oh crud!” Eirwen snapped up, nearly cutting herself with the knife in Nick’s hand, and ran over to the fireplace with her hoofed feet.

Nick cleared his throat, returning his coins and knife back into his vest. “Just an unfinished business transaction.”

Kaya seemed to search her sister's face, which was a full blush at this point. Determining somehow he wasn’t in fact threatening Eirwen, She frowned at him, before her eyes softened.

“Just you being you, I take it? I’m glad to see you’re doing well. When you collapsed, I was a little worried. You had a lot more wounds than you let on.”

He shrugged as he sat down, and Kaya moved to stand behind the chair of the table in front of him. “Worried about me? I told you there were a lot of rats. It’s a shame some people just don’t listen when others talk. They forget they have two ears to hear, even if they might be like that of a raccoon for some, but only one mouth to speak.”

Her hands gripped the chair tightly, as she gave a fake laugh. “You’re right…  Thank you so much for your help, Nick. I don’t know what I would have done without you– I don’t think I could have gotten the medicine yesterday if not for you. My sister and I appreciate you!”

Nick sighed, as he realized he was doing it again. Something about Kaya just made him want to mess with her, to get a rise out of her. She fought the anger and was still polite. He could tell she wanted to get along.

“You’re welcome, Kaya. I do appreciate you putting up with me as well. I’m sorry I can be a little…annoying. When are you going to give her the medicine? I can see she’s still sick.”

Eirwen froze at the fireplace, where she was moving food onto a plate. “What do you mean? I had the medicine already. I’m feeling good, so you must mean… You’re saying my soul is sick? But… I should be able to feel that.”

She stilled herself trying to sense something, but eventually shook her head.  Eirwen then delivered the plate of char grilled meat to the table, then took the plate of sliced meat she had been working on from the table and began placing the raw meat with herbs and spices on the grill.

She returned with some wooden plates and forks, placing them in front of each of them.

Nick said, “Thanks, Eirwen. This looks great.”

Eirwen smiled with pride. “We have a lot! That bearcoon had a lot of meat on it! I have some in the smoker outside. I did remove some sections with the bite and claw marks on them, but there was plenty left.”

They settled in to eat, and Nick was surprised at the taste. He had never had bear, or raccoon, meat back on Earth. He didn’t know how, but it tasted like both turkey and pork at the same time.

“This bearcoon is pretty good.” He gave Kaya a serious look. “I’m sorry ‘bout your cousin, Kaya.”

Kaya rolled her eyes, as she continued chewing her own bite of the meat.

Eirwen saw Nick’s serious face, and looked over to Kaya and said, “Oh no, what happened to Mindy? Why didn’t you tell me something happened to her?”

Kaya sighed. “That’s just Nick being Nick again. He was hinting that we were eating the cousin now; that I was somehow related to this dead bearcoon. It was my ex as we were fighting it, and my boyfriend before we did.”

“That’s some good listening there, Kaya. Good job! See? I knew you could do it.”

Eirwen started to laugh. “That’s funny! Because… you’re like a bearcoon too! You can even turn into one!”

Nick looked at Kaya. “What’s this now? She can turn into a bearcoon? Damn, you been holding out on me, Kaya!”

“A red panda, damn it! And, I grow a bit, so it ruins my clothes; I’m often naked or near it when I come out of it. I also have a hard time thinking straight during, so I may lash out at allies. I had wanted to use it to escape the bandits. Then, when the roar froze us, but found I couldn’t. By the time I could move again, it already wasn’t a great idea to use.”

Nick looked at Eirwen with a bit of longing, thinking of her soft wooly hair. “Can you do that, Eirwen? Become a sheep?”

Eirwen looked a little distressed. “Why are you looking at me like that? I can’t, though. Not all beastfolk can do it. It’s more common among predators or just those that fight a lot, and it’s the same with monsterfolk.”

Eirwen got up and finished off cooking the rest of the meat, cleaning up the grill.

Nick asked, “What’s a monsterfolk, anyway?”

Kaya said with a frown, “How have you never seen a monsterfolk before?”

“They ain’t got any of those down in Florida. Eirwen didn’t tell you?”

Eirwen giggled. “That was just between me and you. She passed out not long after treating your wounds, I hadn’t had a chance to tell her. I can keep it a secret if you want?”

“You’re the best, Eirwen! Best hair, and the best sister there is. Nah, though.” He looked at Kaya. “I don’t know what a monsterfolk or beastfolk is, because I’m not from this world.”

She looked shocked speechless and doubtful, so he just continued, “But this body is. It’s like I took over it, as it was resting in that tomb, or such. I was a human on Earth, and there were no other intelligent races but humans there. No magic, or this essence you talk about here. Just technology and machines. All that is magic and other races were all just fiction, on Earth.”

Eirwen nodded. “It was a very strange world. Almost nobody carried weapons, and it seemed quite safe. Also, people were very fat.” She came back and returned to the table, finishing her own meal.

He chuckled. “True. I don’t think a majority of people knew how to fight, either…”

Eirwen asked, “Where’d you learn, then? You seemed very proficient.” She took on a far away look, with almost a dreamy expression. “You really danced around that bearcoon, like you could fight it forever. You were amazing!”

Kaya scoffed and looked like she wanted to say something, but just continued eating her meal.

Nick chuckled. “VR games. You would put on something like a helmet, and it would replace your senses, kinda like a dream. Inside the game, I could learn all sorts of skills without actually going anywhere. It’s where I thought I was when I arrived here. I was surprised when I only had intermediate skill in long sword here, because I was beyond an expert in most games.”

Kaya scoffed. “Experts are usually in the second stratum. They can weave the essence of their body into their very blade, cleaving even boulders in two with a single swing!”

“Damn, maybe that’s all I needed. But I can weave soul essence into my soul blade, I think.”

Kaya nodded. “And that is special, but in the end it’s not the same thing. There are those that weave mana into their bodies and blades, as well. It takes much more skill to do it with Body. I never heard of anyone weaving soul into their weapon, but I can tell what you do is not at the level of an expert. Momma was able to do it.”

They finished eating, Nick eating well past being full. “I was worried when I had that hard tack, thought you all didn’t know how to cook. But some of y'all be grubbin’ good.”

Eirwen asked, “What you mean by, you all?”

“You Orion people. We got tons of great food down in Florida. Anyway, let me try to heal you, Eirwen.”

Kaya and Eirwen looked on with doubt. Kaya said, “You, heal her?” She narrowed her eyes. “How could a knight heal someone?”

Nick pretended to sigh. “And here I thought you were becoming a good listener. I told you I was like a paladin and a necromancer. So, will you let me heal you, Eirwen?”

She nodded as Kaya rolled her eyes but kept quiet as Nick walked over and put his hand on Eirwen’s back. He used his soul sense to feel her soul out, along with looking with his eyes. He compared her soul to his own and even Kaya’s.

His and Kaya’s were like a perfect sphere, or as close to it that he could perceive. Eirwen’s was not only cracked but misshapen. There were what looked to be ravines and mountains, bumps around the many cracks. Really, it reminded him of the bumpy globes that showed geography back on Earth.

Nick doubted he could even heal this, but he would still try. Perhaps, he could fill in the green cracks somewhat.

He willed casting the spell, saying the words to focus it. “Soul Mend!”

White light left him and encircled her soul sphere. It brightened, and Nick did actually see some green being removed. However, it was just a fraction of the total. Unsure of how much effect it really had, he had to ask.

“How’d it feel? I can cast it a few times, but I don’t know that much about it.”

Eirwen blushed. “I-It felt good? I think it’s helping!”

Kaya looked on with doubt. “The soul is a complicated thing. A few minutes ago, you didn’t think anything was wrong with it, Eirwen. Now he waves his fingers, and you think he’s helping you?”

Nick shrugged. “I mean, if you don’t want me to heal her–”

Eirwen interrupted, being firm and looking at Kaya as she spoke with a little anger. “No, Nick. Please cast the spell again. Kaya might have doubts, but I am appreciative of your efforts.”

Kaya almost looked like she was slapped, looking at Eirwen in confusion.

Nick smiled. “No problem, Eirwen. Think nothing of it. Soul Mend!”

He made sure to pay even more attention this time, as the lights entered her sphere. The green cracks definitely lessened, and he thought the sphere almost grew in response. Though, he did notice something else–the sphere grew a little dimmer, as a result.

Eirwen yawned. “That did feel good! But, I do feel a bit tired now. Maybe a little hungry, too? It’s weird–we just ate.”

Nick nodded. “It might be best we take a break from it. Your soul grew just a tiny bit dimmer the second time. It makes some sort of sense that I’m using mana, I can’t just make soul out of nothing?”

A low rumble came out of Kaya’s chest, almost like she was growling–but Eirwen glared at her, causing her to stop.

Eirwen gave Nick a brilliant smile. “I can tell it helped, even if only temporarily! Thank you so much, Nick! I think I’m gonna go take a nap.”

She stood up, and gave Nick a hug from the side, then a kiss on the cheek before she went toward the bedroom.

Nick chuckled. “See, Kaya? That’s how you thank a guy for his help. Shoot, I bet if you were more like your sister here, there’d be heroes lined up ‘round the corner waiting to help you out.”

The rumbling from Kaya returned, becoming a full growl.

Nick whistled. “Damn, that works for me too. We talked about this, didn’t we?”