Chapter 17 Happy Birthday

When I got back to the inn, Daisy was waiting for me. All my packages arrived and she had even stored my new clothes in the chest under the bed. I was grateful for her effort, but I was a bit embarrassed at having her sort through my undies, new or not. I would just put them in my inventory anyway.

I did owe her 42 copper for the drinking we had done the night before. Apparently, I had been too drunk to figure out how to get the money out of my inventory. I had managed to tip Caryl chocolate but somehow wasn't able to get money to come out. I had to be told about my antics the night before while I solemnly paid her.

“It was a bit amusing to me and the girls when you started singing to me, some odd song no one could make sense of. Then you started arguing with yourself. You had the priest in fits of laughter. Then I had to carry you ducks up the stairs. Neither of you had any legs.

“Who is Brunhilde by the way? You kept calling me that while you were singing. Do I remind you of someone you know?”

“She's a famous fictional character. She's a warrior maiden.” This was embarrassing, once again I was glad for poker face.

“I see,” Daisy said nodding. “I've never heard of her, but anyway, happy birthday.

“I found your present last night on your bed, but I thought it would be prudent to hide it until you sobered up. When I put your clothes away, I put it back on the bed. The note is there too. I didn't open it or anything.”

Birthday? Technically, the day I was sent here was my birthday. Who would know that though? More importantly, someone sent me a present. The only one I could think of was Amoris.

I requested a clock for my room, and Daisy ran back and fetched one for me. It was old-fashioned looking made of wood with two brass bells at the top that were struck by a hammer sitting between them. I gave her some chocolate as a tip for her troubles.

Clock in hand, I rushed up the stairs. I really wanted to know what Amoris had left me. It was something Daisy obviously thought I shouldn't have while drunk. I was drawing a blank at guessing though. I really couldn't think of anything.

When I opened my door and saw what was on my bed I nearly dropped the clock. The gift wasn't from Amoris at all but from Edomael. It was a twin to his bow, but this one was all black.

I picked it up, held it up to the light and marveled. It looked like black marble, but it was made out of something else. Not metal or wood it was too light for metal and too heavy for wood. In the light, it had a slight shine to it like an oil slick with dark rainbow colors. I fingered one of the feather carvings marveling at the detail. This had to be hand carved. So whatever the material was, it was carvable.

It was different from the ones I had used. There wasn't an arrow rest and the grip was different. It looked like a recurve bow and a longbow had a baby and out came a simplified recurve bow that was slightly larger than normal. Was this how they looked traditionally? At school they had us use recurve bows because that's what was easiest on beginners and because it was the Olympic bow. I guess you wouldn't need a sight if you had the skill aim.

I strung the bow and tested the draw weight. Hell, I couldn't even pull it halfway back. Recurve bows were supposed to be easy for beginners. I couldn't shoot this thing if I couldn't draw back on it. Not to mention balance the arrow and aim while struggling to hold the string in place. Damnit, maybe there was more information in the letter?

The letter had also been placed on the bed. On the front of it was scrawled HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Inside the envelope was a single piece of paper.

Eri,

Happy Birthday. You were right. If I am going to go around claiming you as my son I should do the right thing and give you a birthday gift. This isn't only a birthday gift. It's also a 'welcome to Elrich' gift and part 'thanks for the great idea' gift. (We are currently discussing the practicalities of having god dolls. The talks look promising and because of this, we thank you.)

That's why this gift is a bit more extravagant than a simple birthday gift. It's a three-in-one present.

As you may have noticed this bow is a twin to mine, forged by my power in the Abyss. I'm not a smithing deity, but I am an archer. I am a god of archery as well as death and reincarnation. So, I know my way around a bow.

It's not magic, but it can be a focus for magic since it's made of Divine Mythril and the leather string is muscle fiber from the underside of a dragon's wing. With this, you will be able to shoot arrows that have the properties of whatever magic you use. You use fire magic you get fire arrows. Simple, right?

This will work no matter what kind of arrow you use, but when you finally get your wings if you use your own feathers then they will be able to conduct the magic better. To get you started, I have left you a bundle of fifty arrows and a matching quiver, also made of dragon leather, that is twin to my own. Yes, they are my feathers, so they will pack an enormous punch. I wouldn't recommend using them for everyday monster hunting.

The more you use you use your bow as a focus for your magic the more magical and more powerful it will become. It is a weapon that will grow with you, get stronger with you. It's not indestructible. There are other god-made weapons floating about, and like I said I'm not a smithing deity. If you should go head to head with someone who has a weapon from a smithing deity, I can't guarantee it won't fail you. So keep this in mind.

I wanted to give this bow a name that was twin to my own bow, White Swan. Then I thought that naming your bow Black Swan would have different connotations to you. You probably wouldn't want your bow named after a ballet. Then I thought Black Hawk, but I decided against that name as well. Black Eagle, Black Swallow, Black Osprey were all names I considered. I wanted to keep the avian theme because of the feathers I had carved into it. So, I decided to simply name your bow Raven.

It's simple and it fits even if it does seem a tad cliche. Ravens are intelligent birds and are excellent at adapting. In a way, I think it is a great name for you who are also adapting to a new environment. You can call it whatever you want, but it's been registered as Raven up here in the archives.

The Amoris priest Crue had a point about you sticking out too much. You don't want to attract attention from the wrong sort of people. With that in mind, I've made it so that Raven will look like a normal black recurve bow to everyone else. Its appearance could possibly change with the amount of magic it absorbs. Not to you, it will always look the same to you, but to everyone else. I suspect that as you develop and begin using better equipment Raven will change to match you. It will always try to stay unnoticed, but it could change from looking like a simple wooden bow, to a nicely crafted bow, to a bow even nobility wouldn't turn their nose at.

So Happy Birthday, My Son,

Edomael

I looked around a bit for the mentioned arrows and quiver only to find them stored on top of all my new clothes in the chest. The quiver was also black and oiled. It matched the bow in that it had feathers and decorative wind like swirls carved into it. The arrows were normal arrows with normal looking metal tips. The fletching seemed normal until you brought it close to the light, then the feathers shined with that sparkly iridescence.

When I grew my wings I would use my own feathers. I honestly didn't know how to feel about that part, but I pushed it to the back of my mind as something to not worry about until it happens. Normal duck feather arrows would be fine.

I needed to learn the archery skill. I also needed to figure out how to use my magic. I had Metal Rain and Healing Hands as active magic. Yet, I hadn't even tried to use either of them. I would have to talk to Crue about it. I should be working on leveling up my magic as well as my physical abilities.

One step at a time. Sure, I was impatient to learn skills because skills would keep me alive. Taking today as an example, there were some serious flaws in just learning the skills without the experience to put those skills into action. It was a catch 22. I could learn the skills quickly but I wouldn't be able to execute them with any sort of experience. So while having a skill might keep me alive, being overly confident in the skill could get me killed. I hated uncertainties like that.

I wasn't a very motivated person physically. My paunch attested to that, but I wasn't averse to playing a game of pick up ball either. Did I have the dedication to develop my skills? I didn't have any confidence that I wouldn't just say screw it and take the easy way out. The easy way out could end up getting me killed, or it could save my bacon.

I placed the birthday present in my inventory and readied myself for bed. I slept in my undershorts. I wasn't confident enough to sleep naked, but the room was a bit warmer than I preferred. I opened the window as far as it would let me, which wasn't far since it jammed after about seven inches. There wasn't much of a breeze so it probably wouldn't help anyway.

I lay down in the bed, still unfamiliar. I had the oddest overwhelming sensation. I really missed my blanket. I had had it for years, getting it when I was a preteen. Made of some sort of fleece material and with cartoon dogs on it, I had taken the blanket to college and even when I slept over at other places. Without shame, I had always taken my blanket. It smelled of me and home. It was a comfort thing. It calmed me down having it nearby.

I could feel my emotions boiling up. They were cresting on a wave and I was just waiting to drown. My eyes began to burn and my nose started to run a bit anticipating the meltdown I was gearing up to have. I couldn't lose my shit now. I had to get up in the morning. I had just gotten a really cool birthday gift, I should be grateful.

Trying to talk myself out of an emotional collapse wasn't working. I got out of bed and taking out the sleeping powder. I mixed it with a glass of water. Tears began to fall as chugged it. It tasted like bitter lemon soap. It shocked me into not crying, that's how foul it was. I followed it up with a second glass, then more slowly a third glass.

With all this water, I decided to use the facilities down the hall. How long did it take for the medicine to begin to work? I only passed one person on the way back. He looked like a nice person and he stopped as if he wanted to chat, but I am ashamed to admit I gave a curt 'good night' and without waiting for a reply made it back to my room.

Then I regretted not talking to the man. I was left alone with my thoughts again. My homesickness, while put on the back burner due to the nastiness of the medicine, flared up again when I climbed into bed. I needed a distraction until I fell asleep.

I could play with the bow some more, but I decided that reading would be more calming.

Picking up where I left off in the local monster biology book. I read about the nocturnal habits of the Brown Spotted Moth. Having a three-foot wingspan it typically could be found in areas just outside of forests. They hid in the trees during the day, but at night they preferred to hunt in open clearings.

They first poisoned their prey with a pollen attack that came from the dust on their wings. The prey would fall victim to the poison then they would use their sharp mandibles to finished the job. They could eat up to twice their own body weight in meat, but supplemented their diets by eating grain crops.

When it was time to breed they would kill a monster, it had to be a monster and not a regular animal, and laid their eggs inside the carcass then they would bury it. The eggs would hatch three weeks later and the larvae would consume the rotting flesh. Then they dig themselves out of the ground and formed cocoons using leaves and other plant matter nearby. After one more week, they would emerge fully formed Brown Spotted Moths, though it would take another month to achieve full size.

I was just beginning to read how farmers used lights to lure the moths out of their fields to kill them, when it felt like my brain had just given up. Then I was asleep, it's not like I was aware that I was asleep. It was just the last memory I had before I was rudely awakened by the alarm clock going off.

It was a dreamless sleep and because of that it was restful. Even though it was an ungodly time in the morning I was actually feeling fairly alert. A quick wash up and I was actually ready to start my day. No coffee was needed, no stumbling about running into things in a daze. That sleeping powder was amazing. It had been a while, even since before coming to Elrich, that I had gotten such a restful sleep.