Heroes of Veritas: Bardic Inspiration (Book 2)

Chapter Seventeen: Flash Back

“Charm spells are insidious stuff,” Elise said, clapping Ichigo’s shoulder with her hand as she left the ring. “I won’t use it on you guys again. I just thought you should know what it feels like.”

Some guildies, who had paused to watch the troubadour’s little show, clapped politely. A few even whistled.

“s**t, Ellie.” Mercenades said, shaking her head - looking vaguely like there was water stuck in her ears after a swim. “That was bizarre as all get out.”

“My charm abilities aren’t particularly subtle, and once they fade the affected person will immediately know they’ve been spelled.” Elise said, finding a spot on the railing to lean against so she could have her turn at observing, feeling she’d given them all a pretty good idea of what her new abilities consisted of. “But there are some people out here, cough, Echo, cough, who can influence people without them even knowing it.”

“Mon petit chou, I would never do this thing amongst friends.” the rogue protested. Then, he looked down and studied his nails with a non-chalant expression, “Unless we are gambling, of course.”

“Remind me never to throw dice with that one,” Jasper said, giggling a little. “Uhm...is it my turn now…?”

“Please,” Ichigo said, motioning to the ring. “Go right ahead.”

Jasper hopped down into the sandy ring, smiling brightly. She pressed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose, took a deep breath. Elise didn’t exactly see when the wand appeared in the little wizard’s hand, but thought she it had slid up her wrist and into her fingers - maybe from some kind of spring loaded holster hidden up her sleeve?

People had a tendency to believe that wizards use magic for everything, but something that Elise learned from playing games was that while mana might recharge, it often didn’t charge fast enough that you could just use spells willy nilly. Mana management was key to being an effective spell caster. Many casters used practical tricks to keep their mystique, while also conserving mana.

Jasper gave a brief wave of her wand, making an arching motion that tapped in the direction of the three targets still standing in front of her. Three tiny dots of red light emerged from the end of the wizard’s wand, barely bigger than the nail on Elise’s thumb. They made their lazy, entirely silent way toward the targets, not looking particularly threatening in the five seconds it took for them to cross the ring and reach their destinations.

At least, they didn’t seem threatening until they struck. The tiny red dots detonated into inexplicably huge balls of fire that consumed most of the ring. Despite the protective enchantments that encircled the space, a shockwave of fire flashed back, and the party - who were standing at the railings - could feel the rolling wave of heat as it washed over them.

Echo even took a step back, blinking in surprise. It was far more powerful than he’d been expecting; but Elise got the feeling he’d never actually seen a wizard in action before. When the flames cleared, there were no targets left. Not even the stub of the fourth target that Elise had left behind after her little show.

Jasper giggled lightly, and threw both arms into the air, causing flocks of black ravens to shoot out from her sleeves, spinning in a circle that made her robes flare out. They swarmed around for a bit, and the wizard took casual aim with her wand, shooting each crow down with a bolt of purple light. Each struck bird exploded in a puff of feathers and purple haze.

For her finale, the young wizard brought her arms inward and started muttering an incantation. Then, she changed. Batlike wings emerged from her back, and her body shifted, muscles bulging and bones cracking as she grew into a massive, terrifying red demon with a forked tongue and barbed tail. Elise actually had to look away from the transformation, as it was making her feel even queasier than the ale had done the night before. Jasper turned, and grinned at them - her massive fangs making the gesture far more intimidating than friendly.

Instead of taking a step back as he had from earlier, Echo leaned forward. The rogue’s saucer-like blue white eyes reflected the red of the demon looming in front of him as he grinned. 

“Now, that is what I call a show.”

Some of the guildies that had started gathering when Elise was playing clapped for Jasper as well. A few villagers who had come out at the sound of the explosive fireballs were observing the demon warily - and were much relieved when the little wizard shrank back down into her true form.

“Goodness gracious, not again…”Jasper frowned a bit, and ran her fingers over the bare skin where her eyebrows used to be. She’d been standing just a little too close to her own fireballs, it seemed. “They only just grew back.”

The other party members each showed off a few new abilities as well, though none of them were quite as explosive as what Jasper or Ellie had offered up. The audience that had gathered left after Ichigo began a long explanation of how he’d discovered a new ability that allowed him to stabilize patients instantly. The catton cleric paid this no mind, though he did look a little irritated when his true audience - the party members - looked no more interested in his revelations than the random guildies and villagers had.

Elise had been paying attention of course, but this new ability made her feel a little bitter. Could it have saved Pita? “Is it a touch spell, or can you cast from a distance?”

“Touch, I’m afraid.” Ichigo said, eyeing the troubadour carefully. He seemed to know what she was getting at.

She shook off the irritation, knowing it was useless to speculate; even if it was a distance spell, Ichigo hadn’t learned that spell until recently. The cleric was always studying, always improving. He’d done everything he could; how could she blame him for what happened? Just because that never stopped her from blaming herself didn’t mean she could treat her friends the same way.

“I’m starving,” Mercenades said, yawning a bit. “Is it dinner time?”

“Just about,” Elise said, looking up at the sky to gauge the time.

“Let’s call it for today, then.” Ichigo said, tilting his head as he smiled. The long earring Elise gave him chimed gently with this movement. “Tomorrow we’ll hit a dungeon, so I want you all well fed and well rested.”

The party retreated in the warmth and comfort of the guild hall, and Elise took a seat on the rug in front of the hearth, strumming lightly on her guitar as the hall filled up. She alternated between jaunty bar tunes that set the guildies feets to stomping along, folky roundelles, and the saccharine romantic ballads that her class was most famous for.

It was during one of these ballads that Ian appeared, lured downstairs by the smell of dinner. The troubadour didn’t take notice of him - her focus on the strings under her callused fingertips. She was playing slow and sweet, the introduction of a song that was enough to cut the heart - though once it was played entire she had no doubt that there would be at least some tears in the room. 

Moltar came down behind Ian, who had paused at the end of the stairs, and pushed past the paladin so that he could get closer to the group. He sat on the floor next to the troubadour as she sang, in front of the chair the tanky giantess, Mercenades, was sitting in. Merc put a hand on Moltar’s shoulder, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. He patted her hand, and nodded to her.

“When the hearth crackles and the flames grow low,

And the windows pile high with the blowing snow,

I will wrap you in my warm embrace,

So that you know my love...”

Elise sang with such tenderness that Ian felt as if he was intruding, despite the group of people watching. As he looked out at the gathered guildies, a feeling of deja vu struck him, as if the scene before him had played out before - with him wanting to join them and not being able to. He wanted to listen with them, to laugh and cry with them, but he knew that there had to be some separation between a commanding officer and his subordinates. What really struck him, though, was the regret; a feeling which only grew stronger when the troubadour looked up and met his eyes. She smiled at him, her face reflecting the warm glow of the evening fire beside her.

“I know you have to sail across the sea,

Just know I’ll always wait for thee,

No matter how the waves might beckon,

That by your fire is where I belong…”

She turned her gaze back down to the strings then, and Ian shook himself mentally. He wasn’t sure what that was; had he been charmed, maybe? He didn’t think so...it was more like the edge of a flashback. Moltar told him he had to stop fighting those, and had been encouraging him to explore his past memories, but he’d been finding it difficult. He barely had the time to keep up with all his duties; how was he supposed to explore the inner workings of his mind?

Ian came a bit closer so that he could listen to the end of the song, and smiled one of his faint smiles when Mercenades slid her arms around Moltar and kissed the top of his head. They were cute together. He knew that Moltar had also been with Pita, and that the oathbreaker was hurting, but at least he still had Mercenades to keep him company.

He found the interaction that Elise had with Ichigo next less cute. The catton cleric stood, then offered the troubadour a hand up. Elise took his long, delicate hand, allowing him to pull her up. She stumbled slightly, falling forward against the cleric’s chest, her hand resting on the man’s shoulder for just a moment as she caught her balance. Ichigo had caught her at the elbow as well. She laughed a little, then reached up to toy with the long, silver chain earring that the cleric always wore. It tinkled faintly with the chimes of tiny bells. She said something, and the cleric laughed - but Ian wasn’t close enough to catch the words over the growing chatter.

Though the interaction was brief, and the pair separated quickly, Ian couldn’t help but feel heat rise in his chest. Though he wasn’t yet ready to name it, that heat would become an annoying, ever present spark in the darker depths of his heart over the next few weeks. Perhaps it was hard for him to name, as it was a feeling he so rarely experienced in his previous life. 

Ian was jealous.