Cocobuki eyed his student from the back of the hall and slowly made his way to the table and took a seat opposite her. "I'm not interrupting am I?" he asked gently. "Not at all" Melanie replied taking her eyes from the books and glancing a smile at Cocobuki.
Cocobuki looked down at the piece of paper Melanie had been jotting down on. "What kind of language is that?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, that's the language of my people. I guess I didn't notice that I was transcribing in my own language."
"How very strange" Cocobuki mused looking at the strange curvature of each letter. "By the way I take it you've had a chance to practice outside with your magic?"
"I have. It feels so natural to me now and I've only been at it for less than a day. I feel like I could just gobble up everything in these books and already be able to use the spells written in them, that is once I can fluently read from them and not having to translate everything word for word. Take a look at this." Melanie fumbled inside her satchel which was on the ground by her feet and removed from it a small lightning crystal. She then stood up and placed the crystal on the floor a few feet away and unclipped her sceptre from her robes. After a few seconds of meditation she pulled back her sceptre whilst thinking the word "shock." The air around her began to crackle and become static as she readied her sceptre and thrust it forwards towards the crystal. A small ball of lightning harmlessly sped its way from her sceptre towards the crystal filling it with an electrified charge.
Cocobuki clapped his hands excitedly at Melanie. "Bravo! You've mastered the art of lightning magic and without even speaking the incantation outloud. You have learned a lot in just a very short space of time. You're just like she was when she first entered my halls all those years ago, a bright student who mastered thaumaturgy within just a few months. It's like being here with you now I've gone back in time to those days. I have no doubts in your capabilities that you'll reach those peaks in the same manner, if not faster."
Melanie felt a bubbly warm feeling at Cocobuki's words, however she also felt a little guilty for what she was about to say next. Picking up the crystal from the floor and placing it back in her satchel she sat back down at the table. "I must admit becoming a thaumaturge was never really something I was interested in learning. To me it was just another challenge to overcome and in the end it just didn't feel like my style. That's why I sought to become a red mage. I much preferred the versatility of being able to both provide as a damage dealer and support as required and to increase my survivability when on my own rather than having to constantly run away every time things got a little too spicy. It's something I still desire to become."
Cocobuki nodded with understanding. "The path to a red mage is always open to you, as is any other profession that you may wish to persue. The reason you're currently here in the meantime is to learn how to recognise and manipulate aether, though I daresay you're mastering this very well that you might not even be needing my help for long."
"I know what you're saying, but so far from the books I've read they only teach about thaumaturgy and the history of the magi and why black magic is a forbidden art. I haven't yet come across anything that teaches about the different forms of aether. All I know is how to manipulate bolts of aspected aether. I know there's much more than this and that it doesn't just require invoking magic from latent aether, so how will I persue other professions if that's all I'll know?"
Cocobuki hummed for a few moments. It was true that different types of magic required different methods of manipulating aether. Though it had just been a day she was showing promising signs already and he felt that perhaps just knowing about the different types of aether could be helpful to her. His eyes scoured the top shelves of books in the alcove next to them until he laid eyes on one. "There, 3rd row at the top and 4th book to the right. This should teach you all you need to know about the different types of aether." Melanie looked up and counted 4 books to the right on the 3rd shelf and pulled down an old book with a red leathery cover titled "Aetheric Arts." She flicked the book open and began to scour through some of the pages. There was some depictions of different types of aether and descriptions on how they were used. "I'll leave you to it. Try not to stay up too late or burn yourself out with too much reading." Cocobuki took his leave as Melanie sat back down and returned to page 1 of the book.
"This book explains the various ways in which aether manifests itself and how it can be used in different types of magic. Aether is in all things living including the star itself. If a being becomes void of aether they would cease to live, as so would the star itself cease to provide life if it too becomes void of aether. This is why it is important to know how to use aether when invoking different types of magic to avoid draining it both from one self and the star as different forms of magic uses different methods of manipulation to only draw upon that which is required at minimal cost."
Melanie was suddenly stirred as she felt someone shaking her shoulder. "Miss Brovola, are you awake?" Melanie grunted and peeled her face from the book. It was now morning and there was a slight crick in her neck from having been bent forward over the table. "I'm sorry to have awoken you. You've been here all night and we were starting to get a little worried."
Melanie rubbed her eyes and looked across at Yayake who she recognised as one of the workers behind the reception. "Ungh, what time is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
"It's just gone past 10 morning."
"What? Oh no, I was supposed to meet my friends for breakfast!" Melanie suddenly jolted out of her seat, grabbed her satchel and started to run from the hall. Yayake was taken aback a little with surprise then turned her eyes to the table Melanie was sat at. "What's this?" she asked herself as she looked at the papers Melanie had been using to take notes with. "What strange handwriting."
Melanie hurriedly sped down the streets hoping she hadn't missed her rendevous with her new comrades. People looked on bemused as she raced past them until she finally reached the doors into The Quicksand and burst through them. A few patrons inside gave her a surprised look and then resumed their conversations. Melanie's eyes scoured the room until she spyed upon her comrades gathered around a table. Johna and Holskwyb were with them this morning. "Ah, she's finally here!" Reubemont said cheerfully.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I was up all night studying" Melanie flustered as she found herself an empty seat at the table and placed her satchel next to it.
"No worries. Here, I think you could use one of these" Suyaya said with a smile handing a small white mug over to Melanie. Melanie nodded greatfully and raised the cup to her lips. The rich aromas of a well roasted coffee reached her nostrils. It was unlike any other coffee she had tasted, it was nutty with a taste like black treacle whilst not being as sweet. She could already feel it working its magic as she became more alert and taking her seat she slowly downed the coffee enjoying its rich and intense flavours.
"As I was explaining to the others we think today would be best spent honing more of our skills outside near Hammerlea, the same place we were at yesterday. The more we are capable of exploring the better, then our adventures can truely begin. What say you Brovola, you up to the task?"
Melanie placed her now empty coffee onto the table and nodded eagerly towards Reubemont. She wasn't sure if it was just from the excitement of adventure or the coffee that made her feel so eager.
"Most excellent" Reubemont smiled. "And now with these new set of arms I should be more capable of holding my ground against those coblyns." Melanie peered around the table to catch sight of Reubemont's new weaponry. On his back was now a hoplon made of pure bronze. His sword had also been upgraded to a much more longer and sturdier looking bronze blade with a bone handle wrapped tightly in leather. "It's going to take me a little time to get used to wielding such a blade. It's less bulky than the last one but I feel this will glide through things so much easier."
"There's only one way to find out" Holskwyb said with a mischievous grin. Reubemont nodded with a smile. "We all ready to begin? Then let's head out." Everyone took hold of their belongings and began to make their way out of The Quicksand.
It only took roughly 20 minutes for the group to reach their destination. Once more they stood in the opening near the large hammers. The coblyns had multiplied and more earth elementals had also entered the area no doubts drawn in by a dust storm that had taken place overnight. Reubemont drew his sword and shield ready for battle and nodded to his comrades. Everyone took position drawing their weapons and waited for Reubemont to give the order to fight.
What felt like hours passed in mere moments. The coblyns had been dramatically reduced in number, their corpses dissipating into aether. The elementals had also been reduced to just a small handful which were now spread out and no longer bothering the group in their training. A few buzzards also tried to pit themselves against the group after smelling blood but they too were slain and reduced to aether. The group reassembled together full of high spirits. "No, please, leave me alone!" a voice called nearby. The group turned around to see a helpless merchant being assaulted by a pack of goblins in the near distance. The merchant dropped his wares on the ground and fled whilst the goblins jeered at him and began diving the spoils among themselves. Reubemont scowled angrily. "I think it's high time we taught those goblins a lesson." He then turned to Melanie. "What say you Brovola, have any doubts before we proceed?" Melanie looked at the goblins as they kicked aside the now empty crates and bags the merchant left behind. No new visions came to her so it was all on them whether or not they intervened, and right now she was feeling just as furious as Reubemont.
Over at the goblin encampment the goblins were showing off to each other their moves and spoils and gloating over their victory. An arrow sped through the air and landed in the middle of the encampment startling them to their feet. "Psssh...koooh!" one of them grunted and looked around. Johna grinned from behind a rock as he aimed another arrow in their direction which whizzed over their heads and embedded itself into a nearby tent. "Ooh, gobbie want more clink clink, but gobbie too much stink stink!" he taunted. Enraged the goblins began to chase after him and Johna raced back to the road where his friends were awaiting him. The goblins stopped upon seeing the larger group in front of them. They looked at each other and nodded as if agreeing to fight. Blades began swinging, elements and arrows began flying. The goblins were taking a heavy battering whilst Suyaya kept on top of restoring her comrades' health. One of them stepped backwards and began to fumble around his backpack for an explosive but couldn't find one.
"Yoo hoo, looking for one of these?" Holskwyb grinned from afar with a live explosive in her hand and hurled it at the goblin. The explosion sent the goblin flying through the air and landing defeated in a heap. The other goblins were quickly cut down and their corpses began to dissipate into aether. The group cheered on in their victory at ridding the locals from the goblin threat.
"That was amazing!" a voice was heard from behind them followed by the cheers of several workers who had been watching the battle. "We only just received new cogs this morning. Had those goblins gotten their hands on them, and rest assured they would have, we'd not be able to continue working the hammers until next week. How can we repay you?"
Reubemont shook his head and smiled. "There's no need for payment. We did this because we chose to, because it was the right thing to do."
"No, I insist" the worker pressed on and from his pockets he withdrew a small handful of gil. "It's not much but if you hadn't shown up when you did it would've cost us much more to replace any lost parts." He then placed the coins into Reubemont's hands and bowed. Reubemont bowed back as the worker returned to his station.
"Well, I daresay this helps pay off for the new weaponry I bought earlier. Here, let's divide this." Reubemont counted the coins and split them up as evenly as he could between his comrades. It was only a small amount of gil, barely enough to buy a coffee with, but it was still gratifying.
Melanie suddenly started to feel faint and collapsed to her knees. Everyone watched her shocked not knowing what to do. "Oh no, not again" Suyaya gasped as she helped Melanie to stand up again. "What did I tell you about draining your aether?"
Melanie shook her head. "No, it's not my aether this time, it's..." A long and loud grumble was heard from Melanie's tummy. Everyone fell silent and then began to laugh. "Oh of course, you didn't have any breakfast with us this morning!" Suyaya sighed with relief. "Aren't you carrying anything with you that you can eat?"
"As a matter of fact I do" Melanie replied. Reubemont looked over to the now empty goblin encampment which still had a campfire blazing away. "We can go take a seat over there at the encampment and rest a few whilst Brovola eats" he said pointing towards the campfire. The group nodded and made their way over and sat around the campfire whilst Melanie dug around in her satchel looking for some food. Inside she found what appeared to be a few platefuls of apple pies.
"Ooh, those look delicious!" Suyaya said as she eyed the pies.
"Would you like some? I have plenty here for all of us" Melanie said. Everyone huddled in closer around the campfire as she started handing around plates until they all had one each and began tucking in.
"Wow!" Johna exclaimed after biting into the pie. "These are even better than the specials at The Quicksand."
Reubemont took a bite into the pie and gasped. He looked at the delicate flakey pastry filled with the sweet tasting pieces of apple complimented by the punch of cinnamon as if he was about to cry. "These remind me of my mothers' apple pies. I forgot how much I missed her cooking." He began to smile and took another bite from the pie.
"These are amazing. Where did you get these from?" Holskwyb asked.
"I made these" Melanie replied. Everyone looked up at Melanie in disbelief.
"You made them?" Reubemont gasped. "Wow, well now I know who to ask when inviting for dinner."
With full bellies once more the team began readying to take to the road again when Melanie heard a groan from behind a nearby tree. She began to investigate whilst everyone else started to group together. "Gasp!" Melanie looked down to see a mangled goblin from earlier trembling from shock and fear at the sight of her and breathing heavily with a loud wheeze. She knelt down to the goblin who looked up weakly at her with its wide eyes. "Pssshkoh...uplander come kill Slashvix? Slashvix...afraid."
Reubemont having seen Melanie wander over to the goblin drew his sword from his sheeth. "Let me put him out of his misery" he said readying to slay the goblin. Melanie raised a hand to him to stop him. "Slashvix, my friends here can help you but only if you promise to no longer attack people. You don't have to be afraid of us. We don't have to fight and kill each other. Will you at least be willing to agree?"
Slashvix continued to tremble and breath heavily. "Slashvix and uplanders...friends?"
"Yes, we can be friends! I cannot speak for all humanity but you and I can be friends. There are many other goblins who are friends with people and live among them. You too can join them, that's if you choose to."
"Pssshkoh...Slashvix...accept. Slashvix and uplander...friends."
Melanie motioned Suyaya over to them. "Please, can you help him?" she pleaded. Suyaya looked down at Slashvix nervously. "Are you sure this is wise?" she asked. Melanie nodded to her. Reubemont still holding onto his sword watched as Suyaya held onto her branch and placed a hand over the goblin's body and started reciting a spell. Melanie rose to her feet and backed away whilst Suyaya invoked her magic. A light emitted from Suyayay's hand as aether poured into Slashvix's body sealing up his wounds. After a few moments he raised himself slowly to his feet and looked up at Melanie. "Slashvix keep promise. Slashvix seek friendly gobbie...friend of uplanders."
Melanie smiled at him. "Safe travels Slashvix" she said. With a nod Slashvix turned away and wandered off.
Reubemont sheethed his sword and looked at Melanie impressed. "You really reached out to him. I hope he finds these other goblins you mentioned. I remember hearing of a small group of them all the way out in Dravania. How did you know they existed?"
"I once travelled there a long time ago and came across them in my journeys" Melanie replied as she dusted the earth from her robes.
"I see... well than, shall we continue onwards with our friends" Reubemont said making his way back to his comrades who were watching in surprise as the goblin disappeared from view.
Melanie started to rejoin her comrades when she heard her own voice speak out inside her head, "I see, like me you care deeply for others." Melanie looked around and down to Suyaya. "Did you say something?" she asked her. Suyaya shook her head. Melanie took another look around then shrugged her shoulders and rejoined her comrades.
