(A/N) I guess I had to split the chapter since this site didn't like the length. I'll start the 2nd volume once he actually leaves the city.

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Chapter 15: Final Farewells

As we broke camp and headed back to the city, Azure walked morosely by my side. She had long since grown too large for the hammock and the people of the city had grown used to her appearance. In the dim light of day I watched as the gentle fall of snow created a fresh layer of powder on the ground, seemingly reminiscent of the previously cold night. It seemed to reflect my current feelings, for I too felt sad that I would be leaving behind the friends that I had made, whose lives I had touched. I was proud though to have had such an impact on the city.

I married off a powerful couple, inspired a promising young blacksmith while assisting in his growth, aided in protecting a young woman from sexual assault, and brought a measure of comfort to another who had not been so lucky. In time, I believed that the cave complex I built would become home to a new protector of the city. Daenerys. I wonder if once he got big enough, if Monroe would finally do away with that annoying mini kraken under the falls, since it would no longer be needed to kill invading monsters in the night in that area.

A smile crossed my face at the image that created in my mind. I had to chuckle as I recalled how he had manhandled that very same kraken when it had the audacity to interrupt his date with Victoria. “Hahaha.” *sigh* ‘Such good times,’ I thought to myself. Azure looked up at me to see what I had found so funny but I just shook my head while smiling.

Back at the Apothecary shop I was warmly greeted by Victoria who seemed to be expecting me. “Jade, I’m glad to see you are back. I heard that you are planning on leaving soon?” She enquired. I returned her look somewhat guiltily as I wondered how she was going to take that news. “Um, Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Hah! I knew it was going to happen, just wasn’t sure when. I’m glad then that I decided on organizing a goodbye dinner today.” “Wait, what?!” I cried out with the swiftness of it all. ‘How had she planned me a goodbye dinner already?’ My thought process was broken by her next statement. “Today you are going to help me cook a lot of food.” I wanted to whimper and hide from the massive amount of work I was imagining for myself already. But it was to no avail.

Too soon I was engrossed in cutting up and dressing an entire boar and a deer flank. I became busy with the seasonings as I smelled each one before comparing it to the scent of the meat. I was imagining what the end result would be with each possible combination. Finally I settled on a sort of spicy yet tenderizing concoction to marinade the boar meat in. As for the Deer meat I hadn’t really done any fancy cooking with it before, so I opted to add a bit of salt, a sprinkling of mint, some garlic, and a few other native spices. The overall smell of it as that too marinated in its sauce made me feel as if I had made a good choice.

The meat wasn’t all that we prepared. In addition, we kneaded out a bunch of dough for 3 pie deserts with fillings of pumpkin, raspberries, and something that vaguely smelled like cheesecake. Already my mouth was watering as I helped to prepare these delicious treats. Throughout all my time with Victoria, we had made frequent special dishes to train my cooking skill, but never had we done anything on this large of a scale. In addition I peeled a bunch of potatoes and after throwing them into boil in the pot I checked in on the meat that was cooking in the oven.

The edges were definitely darkening up nicely showing that they were just about ready to pull out and the aroma was to die for. The 3 pies were on the counter cooling down from their baking and all that remained was the salad mix that Victoria was working on and the potatoes that were just about done boiling. . . Too soon it seemed, I was done with even that and had begun setting the small kitchen table.

Victoria happened to look up at what I was doing before she interrupted me. “Jade, we are going to need more than those 4 small spaces. I’ve already cleared the dining room table and if you wouldn’t mind, we are expecting to seat 7 people.” My eyes widened at that new information. “Who of all are we expecting?” I enquired in surprise. A crafty smile filled her face before she replied. “Ahhh, you will just have to wait and see. But I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.” With that she returned to her work and left me to mine.

Early evening had arrived as the sun was low on the horizon and just a few minutes ago we had finished setting the table and placed the food out on it. As I anxiously altered between twiddled my thumbs and played distractedly with Azures furry head I heard the chime of the Apothecary door opening. Rushing up to see who it was, I came face to face with my earlier tormentor. Monroe was all smiles as he looked at me. “Are you all healed up already?” *Sigh* “I guess I didn’t teach you well enough.” He said with a straight face. My eyes widened and then narrowed as I knew he was joking. “One day, one day Master, I’ll be strong enough to show you my FULL appreciation for what you did for me.” Of course I totally meant beating him into the ground just as he had done to me. A terrible smile, like a vicious predator licking its lips in anticipation of a bloody dinner crossed his face. “I look forward to the day.” He said, knowing full well what I meant.

Thankfully I was saved from any further thoughts of being torn to pieces by my monster teacher with the arrival of Gertrude. I raised my eyebrows at her arrival wondering the reason for why she was invited when just behind her I saw Lynette. “Oh!” I hadn’t seen much of her since I had taken her to Gertrude’s shop and not at all since I had started my two months of training. Lynette somewhat shyly came out from walking behind Gertrude as she faced me.

She was dressed in a semi-formal wear that could be expected for a fancy dinner here in the city. A green blouse and brown skirt seemed to go well with her complexion. In addition she had a thick and shiny necklace that wrapped rather loosely around her neck several times before disappearing into her top.

“He . . Hello Jade, how have you been?” She asked me. She seemed . . . different. What had once been awkward and hesitant, had mostly disappeared and the woman that stood before me now seemed more sure of herself. The scars that I knew existed on the left side of her face were still mostly covered by the bangs of her long black hair, but the right side was open and pulled back behind her ear, showing me for once the beautiful eyes that had been hidden. Dark brown with streaks of forest green met my gaze.

“I have been doing well,” I said with a relieved smile. “I hear that you too have been very busy with training, how has that been going?” I asked her. A spark of excitement filled her eyes as she began telling me of how great a teacher Gertrude was and that she had learned a lot in the time she had spent with her. Before she could go into more detail, the door to the apothecary shop rang open again. Stepping inside were Kade and his apprentice Shaun.

I didn’t want stop talking to Lynette but I also didn’t want to seem rude and not acknowledge the arrival of those two. Seeing my dilemma, Lynette gave me a little smile. “I’ll catch up with Gertrude and we can talk more later.” She said just before disappearing through the same back door that led to the inner house and dining room. Just shaking my head at myself I looked back up to greet the two newcomers.

“Kade! Shaun! It’s great to see you two. Should I guess as to why you are here?” I asked. Kade gave a snort of laughter. “Son, we are here to see you off is what. Don’t act so innocent.” He said jokingly. Turning towards Shaun he continued. “Shaun here wanted to go adventuring with you, but I told him that he’s got a bit more to learn before he could go out on his own.” The aforementioned Shaun was standing a bit awkwardly there beside Kade as if embarrassed that things were said so openly. Soon enough though he had gathered his composure and stared me right in the eyes.

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for what you have taught me.” He gained a sly grin on his face. “It has gained me a lot of respect in this city, and I’ve even been enjoying . . . well, let’s just say I’m a bit popular with some of the ladies now.” As Shaun was saying this, Kade was getting a shocked look on his face. With a swift elbow into Shaun’s solar plexus, he loudly cleared his throat. “Maybe for the good of the city I should send him with you.” He muttered under his breath. *sigh* “But no, he does have more work to do.” Kade said, speaking normally again.

Trying to keep from laughing at the hilarity of it all, I led them through the back door to join everyone else at the dining room table. Soon enough we were all seated and I don’t know if it was luck or if they had planned it that way but I was next to Lynette.

With nothing else to do, we all began tearing into the food. IT WAS GOOD. I was definitely going to have to try that deer flank recipe in real life if I could somehow get my hands on some deer meat. As we piled and emptied our plates of food, conversations flowed around the table. Among them was the question of where I planned to go once I left.

Honestly, I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know how I’d go about asking it. So I just told them of one of my goals. “I don’t know which direction to take, but I’m looking for a way or a place to gain a holy or light affinity.” Shaun and Lynette just raised an eyebrow at that, but the older adults were casting worried glances my way at my announcement. Earlier on I had enquired about the existence of Light or Holy Elemental Stones at the mages guild. They said they didn’t have any in stock and that usually they could only be gained at places of religious significance or at a holy city.

Victoria was the one who finally broke the silence. “Jade, why do you want to gain a Light Affinity?” Concern was very evident in her voice. I figured I could tell them since it shouldn’t bring any harm to me. “In truth I’m looking to gain Light and Dark Affinity since I’ve already got Water, Earth, Fire, Electricity, and Wind.”

Shock crossed their faces at this newly learned development. “Wha . . . I had no idea you had done so much.” Victoria finally said. Biting her lip she turned to Monroe as if asking for his help. Finally he too spoke up. “Jade, admittedly what you have accomplished is beyond incredible, but I’m a bit worried about your interest in gaining a light affinity. Dark is difficult as well, but seeing as your friend here was able to gain it, we aren’t as worried about that. What concerns us is what is always required of those that seek to gain a Light affinity.”

As he was saying all of this, I was getting more and more curious about their obvious hesitation. Finally I just asked straight up. “What is so bad about gaining light affinity?” There was another moment of hesitant silence before Monroe spoke again. *sigh* “Those seeking light affinity have to align themselves with a religious group and swear their allegiance to them. It honestly wouldn’t be so bad to become affiliated with a religious group, except that the only nearby holy city that we know of is quite . . . rigid with their doctrine. I really could not see you putting yourself through their initiation rites and coming out as the Jade we currently know.” The other Victoria, Kade, and Gertrude were all nodding their heads at what Monroe was saying. ‘Wow’ I thought to myself. For them to be this agreeable on that subject means a lot.

I licked my lips as I hesitated telling them something I’d been keeping a close secret. Looking around me, I saw individuals that I had either worked very close with, had told much to already, or that I had entrusted something precious with. For what reason should I doubt their intentions? Finally I spoke up. “I’ll tell you all something that you more than likely don’t know. I can’t use magic.” I said.

Various surprised and doubting expressions as well as several exclamations filled the table at my admitting this. Before they could question me further I plowed on with my explanation. “I have an alternate ability that allows me to gain affinities and manipulate the elements. What is required of me to gain said affinity is to expose myself to certain aspects of elements and in differing ways. When I tried to eat a Mage Stone, it didn’t work. In addition, the only Elemental Stone I ate, was the Earth Stone. And you remember how that turned out.” I said while looking sideways at Victoria. Her face turned a little pink at my mention of that occurrence.

Continuing on, I explained my intentions. “I believe that as long as I expose myself to magic of the Light affinity, then I will in time be able to gain it for myself. The same goes for the Dark affinity.” I said while glancing at Lynette. After that, I became silent, allowing the others to digest what I had said.

Slowly a heated conversation began to break out among the older adults at the table. I was able to catch snippets of conversation as they each seemed to have a strong point of view. “It is too dangerous for . . .” “Hmm there are other locations that are. . .” “Those would take forever to find and what if . . .” A single voice, that of Monroe, broke out. “We do have to take into consideration what he has achieved much already.” Gertrude tried to interject, but Monroe held up has hand pacifyingly before continuing. “Who is to say that it is too dangerous, or that it can’t be done? Surely like he said, all he needs to do is expose himself to enough Light magic. With enough money he could simply pay the priests to cast Light healing magic on him. Just have him keep injuring himself so that he can keep getting healed and that would work.”

Both Victoria and Gertrude glared daggers at Monroe for his supposition, while Kade seemed to be thoughtfully nodding his head. “That could indeed work.” The smith said while avoiding looking at his wife. “Yes, it would present the smallest risk for Jade and still give him what he needs. The worst thing is that he will be out of some money by the end of it.

“That is a perfect idea!” I cried out. “Thank you Monroe.” Although Victoria and Gertrude seemed to have decided to accept the loss, it seems they had something else cooking up. It was Gertrude who now spoke up. “Hmm, that is all well and good, but considering the danger that this boy seems to get himself into. . .” I looked curiously at her when she said that. Shaking her finger at me, she continued. “I’ve been keeping an ear out to hearing what others have seen you do.” I scrunched up my face in thought as to what she might be talking about. She couldn’t possibly mean that stunt with Lysis and his dragon. Surely he didn’t tell anyone. But then again, how was I to know for sure that there wasn’t anyone else out in the woods where I was practicing my ‘sky diving?’

As that thought crossed my mind I felt my skin go a little white in fear. A knowing smile crossed Gertrude’s face as if to say she knew she had me. Then she continued on, thankfully without expounding upon what she heard. “We figured you could do with a more level minded traveling companion. Goodness knows your Tiger is just as reckless as you.” She paused to take a breath. “Therefore we have decided that you should take Lynette with you.”

‘Oh!’ The surprise of this revelation had to have shown on my face. Honestly that was the other thing I had been hoping for, but I didn’t know how to broach the subject. Feeling a steady gaze on me, I turned to my left where Lynette was seated. With a hopeful look on her face and in a hesitant voice she spoke. “Is . . Is that okay with you?” She asked me.

I didn’t need the heated stares I was feeling from Victoria and Gertrude to tell me what my answer had to be if I wanted to survive. In fact I was excited. Besides the obvious fact that I greatly cared for her and wanted her company, so too would that mean that she could help me with my darkness affinity. Calming myself before answering, I finally spoke up. “I would be very grateful for your company. I feel we will have lots of adventures together.” I said this with an honest smile.

In a rush she embraced me in a tight hug. Startled, I could only react with my own arms around her before she pulled back after a few seconds in obvious embarrassment. “Oh um, yeah, Thank you.” She said with a shy smile. “I need to get my stuff together, we are leaving tomorrow aren’t we?” She asked me. Honestly I hadn’t created a set plan, but there really wasn’t much else to do so I nodded my head. “Yep, tomorrow morning.”

With excitement in her eyes, she got up from the table. “Okay I need to go then.” She exclaimed. “Wait!” Victoria called out. “What about Pie?” Lynette seemed suddenly very torn between packing and pie. “Uuuum.”

“Can we just give her a slice of each of the pies?” I quickly voiced. I didn’t want to ruin her momentum. Victoria seemed to nod at that. “Yes, we can do that. Hold on just a minute.” Pulling out another plate, she piled on 3 slices onto the plate before letting Lynette run off.

After that, the remainder of the kitchen conversation seemed to come to a close as everyone had things they needed to do. Besides Victoria who lived here and Kade who seemed to have something to tell me, Shaun was the last to leave. In parting he spoke. “Jade, I just wanted to say thank you again. . . . Also I have news. Just recently I was able to consume an average level Earth and Fire Stone.” My jaw dropped in surprise at that information.

“Wha . . . How?” I finally managed to ask. Shaun seemed to find humor in my expression. Laughing before replying he said. “After buying the two stones from the Mage Guild, I came to Victoria for the Laxative solution and the burn heal salve. After hearing what I planned to do and learning about how you had helped me the other times, she offered to help me this time.” A bit of a grimace crossed his face for a second. “Admittedly it was a rough assimilation but it worked out. Eventually I do want to travel with you, if that’s alright?” He enquired of me.

“Absolutely,” I replied. “It would be great to have you along. I’ll be sure to come back when I get the chance to see if you are ready.” With a nod from Shaun, he left the store and headed out into the now dark streets.

After Shaun had left, it seemed Monroe was waiting to talk to me. Turning to face him I waited expectedly for him to speak. With a brief concerned expression he began. “To be honest, it is a dangerous thing that you are attempting, but as long as you do not become an actual initiate in their faith, then even if you should die, they will likely not try to come after you for taking advantage of them to gain the Light affinity. Still, I would suggest great caution in your approach.” After another pause he continued. “If it were not for the fact that you as a Traveler are immortal then I would not suggest this at all. . . But you are, and so I shall tell you what I know. . .”

Monroe went on to tell me about how to reach the Holy city of Broan and told me of some things that I should not do or else risk gaining their ire. Soon enough, he retired to the bedroom in Victoria’s house where I guessed he was staying for the night. After he left Victoria and I cleaned up the remaining dishes and put the kitchen in order. We worked together in near silence as if there was something on both our minds. Finally with the last dish put away, Victoria motioned for me to sit down at the smaller kitchen table. Reaching into her cabinet, she pulled out 5 crystal clear seasoning containers. Setting them on the table before me, she sat down as well.

“Jade, I honestly don’t know what else to give you since you seem pretty well equipped already. But these containers are something I have been keeping for you when you finally became a good cook in your own right.” Pausing to wipe her eyes which had gotten a little misty, she continued to speak. “After tonight’s dinner, I can honestly say that you have exceeded my expectations in every way. Please take these as a gift and remember that you can always call this place your home.” With a hug that she didn’t seem to want to end, Victoria finally pulled away and left to go be with Monroe.

*ting*

Survival/Gourmet cooking: (Rare) Through the combining of several of your skills you have gained the talent to gather unique edible resources and refined the skill to create tasty dishes both in the wild and in the comforts of civilization. If the skill of your cooking is discovered then you will likely be plagued with adventurers seeking to join with you and doors will open to you in places that may otherwise shun outsiders.

“Wow.” I whispered under my breath. ‘This will come in quite handy.’ I thought to myself as I went back to my loft. Azure who had been enjoying the increased attention with those that she knew and was familiar with had long since retired to bed. Gertrude and Lynette were the only two that she had been hesitant to spend much time with. However, I knew that would change as she got to know Lynette on the road as we traveled together.

Finally I set out to organize my equipment. Already I had swapped out my medium sized pack for a slightly larger one that was insanely sturdy. Placing my satchel with my apothecary supplies at the bottom, I then began placing things that I would be less likely to need while actively traveling as compared to when setting up for camp. My knife, several fast acting healing potions, and travel rations obviously were packed last. In addition I stored my water canteen in a side pocket of the pack.

Looking over at the corner of the room, my gaze took in my naginata. Ever since I had gotten it made and set it there, not once had I moved it. A thin layer of dust covered various parts of the spiral grip that ran the major length of it and the dark steel blade didn’t have as full as a shine as it had at the beginning.

Grabbing a small cloth rag from the apothecary shop I set to wiping it down. Soon enough it shone with the same dark glow that it had given when I first picked it up from Kade’s shop that had seemed to long ago. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I picked up the hefty weapon. Honestly it did seem a bit lighter now than it had before. I knew I had gotten stronger, but it was still nice to have a comparison of sorts. Gazing at the length of shining black metal that lay across my lap, I thought of what I likely had in store for me out in this new world.

As I pondered that, I began to wonder at what might happen to me in the long run. Was all this adventuring and spending time in this virtual reality going to be worth it? I mean, there had been several times now that I had been caught up in the beauty and reality of this place and had forgotten that it wasn’t real. A large part of me desperately wanted and needed it to be real and yet what could I do?

Again, feeling the cold metal beneath my hands I had a flash of thought. What if I were to do what I had tried several times before in Real Life. Before coming to this Virtual World I had often experimented with my ability to enhance my emotions. I would gather up the feelings, hopes, and dreams that I had, and I would pour them into an inanimate object that held special value to me.

Sadly I ended up losing that object. But before that happened, I had created that object from a straight branch of wood, a little under a meter in length and 2 inches in width. It had come from a climbing rosebush that had been around for many years. After taking off the thorns and sanding it down, I had let it weather in storage for 2 years before finding it again. As I began playing with it, the amount of use I had put into it swinging it around as if striking an invisible foe had worn it down to a smooth polish from the oils in my hands.

It was this object which I had sadly lost but which I had invested the emotional energy of my daily desires and fears, successes and shortcomings into. What if I were to try that here and with this naginata? Deciding it couldn’t hurt, I began to summon my soul energy. As it gathered about my fingers I began to recall in clear detail all the important things in my life, both in the Real World and here in the World that I wished was real. With those memories, I mentally wove them into my soul as I poured that energy into the polished black metal. I lost track of how much time I spent. By the end of going through all those memories, I was entirely spent of energy. Not able to bring out a single drop of sensation, I finally settled down for the night and fell asleep.

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Logging out, I felt restlessness flow through me at the thought of what I would began to face starting tomorrow. Seeking to make the time go by as quickly as possible, I decided to take a quick 2 hour nap in Real Life instead of the regular swim.

As I lay there in bed and after setting my alarm, I turned on some music to help me relax so that I could sooner fall asleep. As I heard the tune, I reflexively reached outward with my soul. To my tired surprise I realized that just as I had expended my soul energy in the game, so too was it worn out here. With a weary mind I soon fell asleep anyways.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Ugh! I so totally should have slept in game. 2 hours of mental shut eye so did not help. It seemed to hurt me rather than help. Still with an hour to go, I hurried up and took a shower which thankfully woke me up better. Then making a quick meal, doing my regular stretches, I logged back into the capsule.

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*Sigh* I was smiling to myself as I got up out of bed to do my in game stretching exercises. Doing it in both places had helped immensely as it had shown in the results of my training. But with those done, I now set about gathering up my pack and getting my quick breakfast. Surprisingly Lynette was there as well at the dinner table with Monroe, Victoria, and now me. Beside her was a pack similar in size to mine. Looking quizzically at what I was bringing, her gaze lingered on the adamantine pickaxe and forearm guards that were strapped to the back of it. Glancing at her own pack she had a worried expression on her face. “Do you happen to have a tent?” She asked me.

I had to smile at that. “Nope, and don’t worry. With Azure and I together, we have everything taken care of in regards to surviving out in the wild.” Still looking a little concerned, she could only nod her head at that. After breakfast we were soon out the door with all of our supplies. Her with her pack and I with mine while I used my Naginata as a walking stick of sorts. I sort of felt bad for the bottom of it, so I formed a quick stone cap on it to keep it from wearing down the metal.

As we reached the East gate that led outward onto the stony path and into the far distance we each turned back to look at the two couples that had seen us off. Monroe was stoically holding his arm around Victoria who looked to be close to crying. Kade was a little red eyed and Gertrude was wearing a fierce grinning expression on her face as she looked at Lynette. ‘What the hell was up with that?’ I thought as I saw Gertrude’s face. ‘Whatever’

Facing the trail out into the forest again, we set off on our way with Azure dashing about along-side us. Not once did we look back again.

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Leaving Niagara Falls City

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